- Renaud Muselier, president of the Paca region, handed over the keys to the Mediterranean villa to Kléber Rossillon to build a replica of the Cosquer underwater cave located in Marseille.
- The works will start in September 2020 for delivery scheduled for June 2022.
- The virtual reproduction of the cave, according to data collected by scientists, is essential for its implantation in the Mediterranean villa, and for the reproduction of the works.
A delivery of symbolic keys, and technical advances. The president of the Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur region, Renaud Muselier, handed over the keys to the Mediterranean villa in Marseille to Kléber Rossillon, founder of the company specialized in the management of cultural and tourist sites. He notably produced the replica of the Chauvet cave. The region has entrusted him with this J4 building, long empty, in order to make a duplicate of the Cosquer cave, an underwater cave located near Cape Morgiou in Marseille. Discovered in 1991 by Henri Cosquer, it seems doomed to disappear with rising waters which can sometimes reach "up to 80 centimeters".
A new advance in this project launched in 2016 by the region to find a use for the Mediterranean villa, an “empty shell” which cost the community 800,000 euros each year. A double satisfaction for Renaud Muselier, with "an exceptional cultural center between the MuCEM, the Regards de Provence Museum and now the replica of the Cosquer cave".
Nacelle tour
The works will start at the start of the 2020 academic year, and will be spread over two years for an opening scheduled for June 2022. “The replica of the cave will span 1,800 m² in the basement of the Villa Méditerranée, a museum representing the different animals appearing in the cave and an exhibition on the climatic evolution of the region will complete the whole, ”explained Kléber Rossillon.
Concretely, the visitors, after having taken a footbridge over the sea, will join an airlock to gain the "depths" of the Mediterranean villa. “The airlock will look like the local divers. Then visitors will descend using a freight elevator, as in an underwater base. They will be invited to climb into gondolas to explore the cave for approximately 45 minutes. The nacelles allow a visit at 400 meters an hour, ten times slower than if visitors did it on foot, ”explained Catherine Bonamy, project manager at Eiffage. Water will be present inside the Mediterranean villa, with the mirror technique, to make the visitor experience as realistic as possible.
Adapt the cave to the architecture
But before you can enjoy these precious and fragile works, "you have to adapt the cave to an already existing architecture, it's a real technical challenge", explains Kléber Roussilon. For this, it can rely on the company Perspective [s], based in the Aix-en-Provence technopole.
This company has recovered all the data collected in the cave by divers armed with ultra-sophisticated lasers, for ten years. A race against the clock against the rising waters, and the degradation of certain works. “We recovered more than 10 gbits of data that we had to assemble, to understand the cave, and make it viewable. We had to create a 3D mesh, ”explains Stéphane Kyles, co-founder of Perspective [s].
Essential virtual reproduction
This work has two objectives: "to integrate and segment the models of the cave at the Villa Méditerranée", and "to reproduce them identically". "We cannot reproduce the entire cave within the building, but we have been certain for a week that all points of interest will be found in the replica," reassures Stéphane Kyles.
A scientific committee supervises the reproduction of the cave. “If you are a geologist, you will perceive the continuity of the limestone strata as in the original cave, and if you are archaeologists, you will find the paintings in their entirety. The objective is to offer the best possible experience to visitors while losing as little space as possible, ”warns Kléber Rossillon.
Regarding the “scientific” reproduction work in the cave, the production of the 15 panels of points of interest has started. “The first panel representing one of the two bison is finished. It is not a question of simple reproduction: the artists apply ancestral techniques. They are real works of art, ”promises Kléber Rossillon. "Yes, it's my cave," confirmed Henri Cosquer, during a virtual visit last week.
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