The city of Marseille wished to inspire a civic renaissance by attracting international businesses and tourists to an area defined by large blocks of abandoned warehouses, derelict residences, two highspeed motorways, and an inaccessible waterfront. KLINGMANN Architects & Brand Consultants proposed a transformation of the area by reinforcing existing amenities with a new programmatic overlay. Several strategies are key to this transformation: a strong brand identity, the design of a three dimensional public landscape to generate a critical level of urban intensity, access to the waterfront, and a plan of phased development.