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The concept of the ‘transitory and permanent’ deeply influenced Auguste Perret’s design ethos. Drawing inspiration from the poet Paul Valéry, Perret viewed architecture as the “mediation between the antitheses of the permanent and the transitory, achieved through the poetic discipline of the architect,” as Karla Marie Cavarra Britton describes in her Harvard thesis Auguste Perret and the Construction of Exactitude.

Among the Le Havre buildings that Perret influenced, The Brise Vent stands out for its deliberate engagement with one of these transitory forces: the wind.

In this proposal, the wind continues to take center stage, shaping the architectural intervention and transforming its power into a new medium—music
























                   

The Brise Vent Havre Competition asked participants to design a  one-of-a-kind Museum facing the port of Le Havre within the concrete structure of the Brise-Vent in Le Havre, France.
After the Hundred Years’ War, a revitalized economy and growing transatlantic trade led King Francis I to establish the port of Le Havre in 1517, despite challenges like marshy terrain and stormy weather. Over centuries, the port grew into one of Europe’s most prominent hubs, thriving through industrialization and naval trade. 

However, World War II brought devastation, with 132 aerial bombardments reducing much of the city to rubble in 1944. Tasked with its post-war reconstruction, architect Auguste Perret reimagined Le Havre, creating a modern city that became a symbol of resilience and architectural innovation.





























 










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After a devastating storm hit the port of Le Havre on December 8, 1946, causing significant maritime accidents, Louis Billotey, head of technical studies, proposed a unique wind-protective wall to shield the harbor. A final design was approved in April 1947. 

The 240-meter-long, 21.5-meter-tall concrete structure, featuring eight openings, successfully protected vessels from northern winds and later served as a base for the Maritime Degassing Company and GRIMP, a specialized rescue unit.














 










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Aelian Harp (Northern Sails)

The Brise fosters creativity, with artist studio spaces nestled within its structure. Both visitors and artists wander through aquatic and meandering gardens, always guided by the sound of harp tones drifting through the air.

Users bask in the interplay of harp music, soft breezes, intricate shadows streaming through the northern sails and water reflections dancing on the underside of the Brise structure. 

 











 

 











 










































 

Through CFD wind analysis, predictable patterns emerge. The Brise, designed to shield the port, creates two distinct wind flows:

(a) the wind travels over the Brise, forming a pocket of lower-velocity wind hundreds of feet beyond

(b) the wind passes through the vents, looping back toward the northern side of the Brise.

 











 
















Functionally, the new northern sails address wind pattern b. This design causes the wind to terminate its loop at the sail, rather than within the interior of the Brise, creating a more comfortable environment.

Poetically, the northern sails incorporate an Aeolian wind harp, with strings positioned perpendicular to the wind’s flow. Visitors experience an ethereal, ever-changing wind song, capturing the transient nature of the wind.

 











 

 











 

























In early sketches I affirmed my belief that a building shouldn't be shoved into the Brise (the most predictable move), but rather build a campus around it, allowing the Brise to stay open to the environment around it, channeling the wind in a novel way.

The most historically crucial function of this structure is to guide the wind safely over the curve, with intermittent ‘vents’ to relieve the pressure.

I thought it important to allow the Brise to continuing functioning as it always had, introducing an intervention that works with, rather than against, it’s original purpose.