Monaco Spatial & Visual Atlas · Territorial Structure
Six Areas of Analysis
The Atlas organises spatial and visual observation in Monaco through six areas of analysis selected for their relevance to the study of tourism, luxury, visibility, accessibility and forms of spatial regulation.
These areas function as territorial navigation units within the project. They do not necessarily correspond to administrative divisions of the Principality, nor do they imply that every part of each area has the same characteristics.
Analytical Function
From Territory to Spatial Evidence
Each area brings together spaces, routes, thresholds, buildings, infrastructure and urban scenes that can be analysed at different scales. The aim is not merely to describe their appearance, but to document how visibility, circulation, access, the ability to remain in a space and the public presentation of luxury are organised spatially.
Within each area, there may be different VAM Spatial Cases, assets from the Monaco Visual Fieldwork Archive (MVFA), field observations and, where applicable, independent assessments using the Soft Exclusion Coding Protocol (SECP).
Research Areas
Explore the Atlas
The six areas provide different urban contexts, ranging from Monte Carlo’s ceremonial core to harbour, residential, coastal and mobility settings.
Research Area 01
Place du Casino & Carré d’Or
Monte Carlo’s ceremonial and symbolic core. It brings together squares, hotels, the casino, luxury retail, restaurants and transitional spaces where the public display of luxury is particularly intense.
Research Area 02
Port Hercule
A harbour area where public circulation, the display of large vessels, access to pontoons and event-related transformations create multiple interfaces between observation and access.
Research Area 03
Yacht Club de Monaco
An emblematic facility at the intersection of institutional architecture, nautical culture and regulated access. The analysis pays particular attention to its entrances, perimeter, exterior visibility and relationship with Port Hercule.
Research Area 04
Monaco-Ville · Le Rocher
A historic and institutional area characterised by distinctive topography, pedestrian routes, ceremonial spaces and a strong relationship between heritage, institutional power and control of circulation.
Research Area 05
Larvotto
A seafront where public space, the beach, restaurants, hospitality and recreational uses make it possible to examine different degrees of openness, opportunities to remain and participation in an upscale coastal setting.
Research Area 06
Fontvieille · Mobility Interface
An area suited to observing connections between mobility, residential fabric, urban infrastructure and differentiated access. It includes interfaces that allow ordinary circulation spaces to be compared with residential or functionally more restricted settings.
Comparative Perspective
Why Multiple Areas Matter
The Atlas’s analytical value lies not only in documenting emblematic places in isolation. Comparisons between areas make it possible to identify how different urban configurations produce distinct conditions of visibility, approach, circulation, access and the ability to remain.
An open ceremonial space, a harbour interface, a club with regulated access, a historic setting, a coastal waterfront and a residential entrance do not offer the same opportunities for observation or conditions of participation. Preserving these distinctions is central to the Atlas’s comparative logic.
Atlas Connections
From Areas to Evidence
Visibility–Accessibility Matrix
An instrument used to analyse configurations of visibility and accessibility in delimited spatial cases.
Soft Exclusion Coding Protocol
An independent protocol for identifying and documenting observable mechanisms of soft spatial exclusion.
Monaco Visual Fieldwork Archive
A visual archive providing the photographic and audiovisual basis for the project’s spatial documentation.
