It’s with a Nokia 808 in-hand that I decided to kill an hour at the port of Dunkirk in France recently. It’s a grim place. The petro and chemical industry, the lorry parks, old rail infrastructure and the grime caused by the transport of 29 million tonnes of freight per year and 13 million tonnes of roll-on-roll-off vehicles. 2.5 million passengers pass through that part of the port every year and most of those go via the DFDS (was Norfolk Lines) ferry that runs every 2 hours to Dover. Nearly 750 thousand vehicles per year pass through a parking bay with one set of toilets located in a reception building that is, like a disused prison, depressing and interesting at the same time.
Image via the Port of Dunkirk. Reception building and waiting area at middle bottom of image.
The building appears to date from the 70’s and reminds me of a lot of 60’s and 70’s state buildings in Germany. The difference here is that it is woefully under-maintained. Let’s start with the entrance. This is the main entrance on the first floor with access via an outdoor stairway.
I’m not joking. This is the main entrance corridor. “Bienvenue.” Here’s how you get to it…
Is that the way to make a customer feel welcome?
The port of Dunkirk (locally Dunkerque) is a state public establishment in France and its board and trustees are responsible for this building. DFDS, the main ferry operator that operates here is not, but all of its customers rely on this facility. I suspect DFDS is partly responsible for the upkeep of this area.
I’ve been using Norfolk Lines / DFDS at least four times a year for the last 10 years and the ferry service itself is good. Staff quality is excellent, the food is OK and the service has never failed me. The quality of the ships (mostly built by Samsung in South Korea about 10 years ago) is degrading although there’s at least some investment going into keeping the customer areas looking tidy. A new children’s play area on some ships is a welcome upgrade to the tatty facilities of the last few years. Pricing is very competitive although this route generally takes an hour longer than the Calais – Dover route. That route, it must be noted, has some pretty bad ferries.
Inside the reception building it’s a tidy space but certainly not clean. The smell of a trillion dust particles from a million people is difficult to ignore. This ‘box’ was empty apart from the sound of a few TVs hanging on the walls and the occasional banging of the toilet doors. ‘Functional’ is one word to describe it and yet the longer you look at it, the more interesting it becomes.
There’s a minimalistic appeal to the area and it would lend itself well as an art space. In fact the stairs are quite the design highlight…
It’s a shame they’re chained-off and flanked by plastic plants. ‘Le Café’ was closed but don’t worry because you can get a selection of snacks and microwave meals from the vending machines…
The play area is mostly out of order…
Maybe it’s completely different when it’s full of people and when the café is open. Maybe it was just my bad mood after being stuck in Brussels for two hours that made me so depressed here. A few weeks later, in the comfort of my home, the images have a certain appeal but it’s still not hard to remember the feeling of being there. The car park isn’t a happy place…
If you’re lucky you won’t need to get out of your car at Dunkirk car ferry port. If you’re unlucky you’ll need to go to the toilet which might drive you to this…
or this…
The RORO terminal is subject to tough weather and tough customers so therefore not an easy place to keep. One assumes the state funding is limited too but surely they, or even DFDS, can afford to spruce up that entrance of sadness?
If I get time and the opportunity I’ll try to explore more of the port area next time i’m there. It’s a fascinating industry of logistics, engineering and infrastructure so Dunkirk Port and DFDS PR people, if you ever read this, please let me know if I can get a behind-the-scenes look…after you’ve fixed that entrance!
All images are unprocessed from the Nokia 808. Some cropping has been done. Nokia 808 kindly loaned by (old) Nokia.
