Wall of Salt By Atelier LUMA

The "Wall of Salt" project team looks back on four years of exploration and collaboration, to enhance the value of the salt resource and the know-how surrounding it.

Salt is a staple of the Arlesian landscape and a core element of the local ecosystem. Its abundance makes it an important export product, but also offers opportunities to rethink the traditional ways of using it. Atelier LUMA has developed applications for salt in design and architecture, exploring the material properties of salt using techniques such as 3D printing, pressing, and crystallization. The results of these explorations have led to uses for salt elements in unexpected and unusual contexts.
In The Tower, salt is used in the walls, both in crystallized wall panels and, in combination with concrete, in cladding with evocative black-and-white textures that spans ceilings and corridors. One of the first investigations begun by Atelier LUMA, the research into salt is reflective of the Atelier’s overall approach: it actively explores the issues involving salt in the Camargue region, and brings together designers, scientists and local experts who discuss the challenges ahead and explore possible solutions. The results of their work with salt have evolved into a cabinet of curiosities of sorts, and a starting point for future conversations.