City of the Ocean and Surf in Biarritz
On sunny days and with a perfect beach break, Biarritz lives up to its reputation as a surfing mecca in Europe: countless surfers frolic in the water or are on their way there, sprinting along the promenade with their boards or transporting them, balancing them on their Vespas. Surfing on the French Atlantic coast began here in the 1950s, and the enthusiasm for the sport hasn't waned since. The fascination with the rolling sea also shapes Steven Holl's latest project, designed together with the architect and artist Solange Fabião: the "Cité de l’Océan et du Surf" (City of the Ocean and Surf), which rises from the newly landscaped green space on the southern edge of town, near the waterfront, between holiday homes and a golf course. The sculptural structure made of exposed concrete is inspired by the power and dynamism of the sea: like two opposing waves, concrete surfaces sweep upwards, framed by balustrades of frosted glass that shimmer like sea spray in the sunlight.
