La Grande Motte is a popular seaside resort located in Southern France, in the arrondissement of Montpellier. But it's not at all an usual seaside resort.The whole area was designed and built between 1960 and 1975 by one single architect, Jean Balladur. 

He was a visionary man, that - with the exception of the works by few artists involved by the author - basically designed every single detail of La Grande Motte over 400 hectares: from the buildings (bigger and smaller) to the roads width, from the vegetation to the height of the sidewalks up to the street furniture. So, even if all the architectures have a different design and they show a different concrete geometry, it's quite clear from the first sight that they were designed by the same hand.

The style of La Grand Motte’s buildings directly recalls the truncated pyramidal forms of Teotihuacan, mixed in with the optimistic futurism of the 1960s and ‘70s. The shape of the buildings is advantageous, providing the opportunity for large terraces, giving as many visitors as possible access to sunlight and views, as well as helping control the winds mentioned earlier. 

Balladur’s master plan for La Grande Motte included zones for camping, a town center, a marina, and a city park. Envisioning a green city, he collaborated with landscape architect Pierre Pillet to choose plant species that would tolerate the marine climate and held development back from the beach (while keeping the beach a walkable distance from apartments) to protect the natural landscape while also creating a pleasurable experience for visitors.

Large open spaces surround the main buildings and the city also includes public squares and parks, sports and leisure services, a marina, and water sports facilities. Balladur made a distinct effort to celebrate and safeguard nature while also harnessing the region’s natural resources just enough to enhance visitors’ enjoyment.