Dieppe Sud district, Dieppe, 2007-2013

TEXT_Dieppe – which is still seen today as a trading port - has an image problem.
For, despite its four ports (Transmanche / Plaisance / Pêche / Commerce), Dieppe would like to position itself as both a port city and a seaside resort – and also as a city with “added urban value”. However, the centre of the city remains divided between port and resort activities and, while this divided-centre may guarantee both Dieppe’s originality and charm, it also acts as a brake on expansion and on the renewal of the contemporary city.
The liberation of development land due to the disappearance of the banana trade offers the opportunity to re-establish a sense of urban centrality in a single large entity at the urban scale.
Since 2007, Agence Patrick Chavannes has been responsible for the urban design project of the ZAC Dieppe Sud. Having presented the masterplan for the ZAC, the office is now project managing both the urban design concept and the development of the new public spaces.
The urban design project for the ZAC Dieppe Sud is an important opportunity to improve the entrance to the city. A new centre is being created around a multimodal hub which is seen as a lever of urban reinvigoration. The development of an urban port district facilitates an improvement in urban quality while reconnecting the city with both its commercial and industrialised port districts.
The ZAC Dieppe Sud operation also presents an opportunity to place the notions of sustainability and the environment at the heart of urban decision-making and – hence - to encourage the design of a sustainable district. It is also an opportunity to create a mixed-use district incorporating the various elements of the city: housing, commercial space, cultural and administrative facilities; multimodal, service and educational hubs and a range of green spaces. Programme: 190,000m² of apartments, offices, public facilities, commercial space -– 20ha of public space.