Bordeaux, a great maritime city
In 1789, Bordeaux is the 2 e port of the world, just behind London, and for nearly two centuries, it will remain one of the world's great maritime ports of call. For the whole of Europe, it is the gateway for overseas products such as coffee, cocoa, sugar, cotton and indigo. But it is also the starting point for great historic maritime adventures, such as the Hermione. Last but not least, Bordeaux played a great role in the history of shipbuilding. In 1913, the Gironde shipyards launched the mythical five-masted France II, the largest sailing ship in the world.
A Navy Museum was established in Bordeaux after the war, but closed in the 1960s. The city was therefore legitimately chosen to host the new national museum.
A collector's project
This project is also that of Norbert Fradin, creator and promoter of the Musée de la Mer et de la Marine. Fascinated by the sea, he received two model ships as a gift from his father - a former moss on Newfoundland and a model maker in his own time - and he is now a model maker in his own right. Today, he collects more than 1500 models. Dreaming of a vocation as a sailor, he took a completely different path, but never forgot his passion.
A collector in many fields, the businessman one day wondered what all these accumulated objects were used for, and so the idea of creating a museum came to him.
Norbert Fradin
What to see at the Museum of the Sea and Navy?
The Museum will consist of indoor and outdoor areas, in which it will be possible to discover life-size boats known to have played a role in naval history, components and typical parts of historical or mythical ships, decorative elements, accessories and objects from the life of the sea and maritime activities, historical models of the great ships that have made naval history, works of naval art, documents, pieces of iconography, etc...
The collections will be expanded to create a fund for exhibitions and reserve purposes. Finally, restoration work will also be one of the Museum's missions.
The exhibition will privilege the immersion of the spectator with scenographies and the staging of animations. For example, they will be able to board mythical ships, take part in naval battles or dive into the seabed in search of shipwrecks. To do this, the use of augmented reality and virtual reality will be at the heart of the project.
An architecture between modern and classic in a mythical place
The Museum of the Sea and the Navy will be installed in Les Bassins à flot, a mythical place, listed as a World Heritage Site. A large 30-metre high tower will serve as a mast or keep for the project, while hanging gardens will envelop the building with its white lacquered concrete facades. Inside, the surface area will be 10,000 m2, spread over 3 levels, including more than 6,000 m2 specially dedicated to the Museum's presentation and animation activities.
