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The ''Unité d'habitation'' (, ''Housing Unit'') is a
modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
residential housing typology developed by
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...
, with the collaboration of painter-architect Nadir Afonso. It formed the basis of several housing developments throughout Europe designed by Le Corbusier and sharing the same name and reached prominence in the 1950s and 60s. The most famous of these buildings is located in the southern part of
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
, France. It was added to the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...
in 2016 because of its importance to the development of modernist architecture, along with 16 other works by Le Corbusier. It is also designated a historic monument by the
French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...
. It was damaged by fire on 9 February 2012.


History

In 1920, Le Corbusier started to develop the ''Unité d'Habitation'' type, which became influential in 20th century modernism and contemporary residential design in Europe. The first realizations were built in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and Marseille in the 1940s as high-rise concrete structures. During the construction of the Marseille building, a few model apartments were built and furnished for visitors as an exhibition. In the 1980s, a team from
ETH Zurich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...
surveyed several apartments in Marseille and built several full-scale models for exhibitions in Paris, Karlsruhe, Tokyo and New York. In 1986, a full-scale model was constructed at the ''Badischer Kunstverein'' by Gernot Bayne based on the survey of Ruggero Tropeano. The same model was then on display at
Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...
. A full scale original kitchen, stairs, and other parts of the apartments are stored and displayed in several museum collections around the world. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York acquired a complete kitchen in 2013. In 2007, students built a structurally correct full-scale model inside the museum "Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine" in Paris. ''Unité d'habitation'' model apartments have been rebuilt in exhibitions or renovated in their historic style.


''La Cité Radieuse'', Marseille

The first and most famous of the ''Unité d'Habitation'' buildings is in
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
, France, and was built between 1947 and 1952. One of Le Corbusier's most famous works, it proved enormously influential and is often cited as the initial inspiration for the Brutalist architectural style and philosophy. The Marseille building, developed with Le Corbusier's designers Shadrach Woods and George Candilis, comprises 337
apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...
s of 23 different layouts across 12 storeys, and all supported by large ''
piloti Pilotis, or piers, are supports such as columns, pillars, or stilts that lift a building above ground or water. They are traditionally found in stilt and pole dwellings such as fishermen's huts in Asia and Scandinavia using wood, and in e ...
s''. The building also incorporates shops including an architectural bookshop, a rooftop gallery, educational facilities, a hotel that is open to the public, and a restaurant, "Le Ventre de l'Architecte" ("The Belly of the Architect"). The building is constructed in
béton brut ''Béton brut'' () is architectural concrete that is left unfinished after being cast, displaying the patterns, textures and seams imprinted on it by the formwork.''Exposed concrete.'' In: Béton brut is not a material itself, but rather a way o ...
(rough-cast
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
), as the hoped-for
steel frame Steel frame is a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal I-beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame. The develop ...
proved too expensive due to the post-war steel shortage. Inside, wide corridors ("streets in the sky") run along the central long axis of every third floor of the building. Each apartment lies on two levels, such that the room on one side of a corridor belongs to the apartment that is mostly below the corridor floor, while that on the opposite side belongs to the apartment above. On those floors without corridors, the apartments stretch from one side of the building to the other, and each has a
balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...
on the western side. The flat roof is designed as a communal
terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...
with sculptural ventilation stacks, a running track, and a shallow paddling pool for children. There is also a children's art school in the atelier. The roof, where a number of theatrical performances have taken place, was renovated in 2010 and 2022, and since 2013 it has hosted an exhibition center headed by designer Ora-Ïto called the MaMo. The roof has unobstructed views of the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
and Marseille. According to Peter Blake, members of CIAM held a "great celebration" for the building's opening on its roof, on a summer evening in 1953. "Architects from every part of the world attended", including
Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (; 18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-born American architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of ...
, who said at the event: "Any architect who does not find this building beautiful, had better lay down his pencil." Le Corbusier's design was criticised by US architect Peter Blake for having small children's rooms, some without windows. In the 1980 documentary '' The Shock of the New'', Robert Hughes argued that it had "one of the great rooves of the world" that conceptually reflected Le Corbusier's admiration for the
Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...
, but criticized other aspects of the building, including the unused space underneath and the small dwellings. Unlike many of the blocks it inspired, which lack the original's generous proportions, communal facilities and parkland setting, the ''Unité'' is popular with its residents and is now mainly occupied by upper middle-class professionals.


Interiors

The apartments were equipped with built-in furniture, and specially designed storage walls with various cupboards with sliding doors, which were designed by Charlotte Perriand in collaboration with Atelier Le Corbusier. Additionally Perriand collaborated on the design of the apartment kitchens, 321 of the 337 units were equipped with the Cuisine Atelier Le Corbusier, type 1 kitchens, many of which are still in place due to their efficient use of space. The steel stairs and the aluminium kitchen counters were designed by
Jean Prouvé Jean Prouvé (; 8 April 1901 – 23 March 1984) was a French metal worker, self-taught architect and designer. Le Corbusier designated Prouvé a constructeur, blending architecture and engineering. Prouvé's main achievement was transferring m ...
. Unité d'habitation model apartments have been renovated in the individual historic Unité buildings as well as rebuilt in exhibitions around the world. The units themselves were designed so each resident had an upstairs and downstairs space, with the upper unit fitting with the lower like a puzzle piece. The apartments were designed to be modular in nature and easy to industrially move in as one piece.


Other buildings and influences

In the block's planning, the architect drew on his study of a Soviet communal housing project, the Narkomfin Building in Moscow, designed by the architect Moisei Ginzburg and completed in 1932. Le Corbusier's design for utopian high density housing for cities was repeated in four more buildings with the same name and a very similar design: * Unité d'Habitation of Nantes-Rezé in 1955, * Unité d'Habitation of Berlin in 1957, * Unité d'Habitation of Briey in 1963, * Unité d'Habitation of Firminy-Vert in 1965. All were oriented with the building's long axis running north–south, so the units face east and west. The replacement of steel by rough-cast concrete (''béton brut'') was a key element that seeded the Brutalist Movement. The ''Unité d'Habitation'' inspired many brutalist housing complexes. In England such buildings include the Alton West estate in
Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, sharing its SW15 postcode with neighbouring Putney and Kingston Vale, and takes up a far western strip, running north to south, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large counc ...
, London, and Park Hill in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
, both of which have attracted much negative criticism. More successful English incarnations of the ''Unité'' include Chamberlin, Powell and Bon's
Barbican Estate The Barbican Estate, or Barbican, is a residential complex of around 2,000 flats, Apartment#Maisonette, maisonettes and houses in central London, England, within the City of London. It is in an area once devastated by World War II bombings an ...
(completed 1982), Gordon Tait's Samuda Estate, Isle of Dogs (1965), Ernő Goldfinger's Balfron Tower (1967), and Trellick Tower (1972), all in London. The triple-level roof garden of Great Arthur House (1957), designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, was inspired by Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation and is a fine vantage point towards St Paul's Cathedral and the Barbican Estate and has panoramic views across London. A roof terrace for the tenants was furnished with a decorative pool, seats, plant boxes, and a distinctive concrete canopy and pergola. The estate was popular with professionals such as doctors and is still a self-sufficient 'urban village'. It is seen as the most successful of England's housing developments from the early 1950s. The apartment building ''Polska Akademia Nauk'' (''Polish Academy of Sciences'') in 20 Wiejska Street in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, Poland was inspired by Le Corbusier's principles. The architect was Jerzy Gieysztor and the building was completed in 1964. Among central European countries, it is unique for its period. It is an abstract sculptural building that floats over anthropomorphic concrete pillars (''pilotis''). All its apartments are spacious, there is an indoor shopping mall, and the roof terrace has a swimming pool. This building was also inspired by the Polish pavilion from the 1937 World Expo in Paris, especially the sandstone wall relief and the entrance roof with round holes. Other Polish buildings inspired by the Unité d'Habitation include the Za Żelazną Bramą Housing Estate (Behind the Iron Gate) in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, and Superjednostka in
Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...
, built in the 1970s. In
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, the Glasgow College of Building and Printing (1964), and the Charles Oakley Building, (1963)—both former buildings of the City of Glasgow College—were designed in the late 1950s by architect Peter Williams of the local firm Walter Underwood & Partners. They are non-residential educational blocks that differ greatly from Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation, inside and outside. Yet the roof terrace of the Unité d'Habitation in Marseille inspired Peter Williams to design the rooftops of these college buildings with gymnasia. Both buildings are now Grade II listed, with the Building and Printing College (now known as the 'Met Tower') is as of 2023 undergoing restoration and conversion into office space Other examples of buildings that drew inspiration from Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation in Marseille are: * A building (1954) in Vukovarska street in
Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
, designed by architect Drago Galić. * The Super Andrija building (1973) designed by architect Miroslav Cantinelli (Siget, Novi Zagreb, Siget Street 18) and The
Mamutica Mamutica (English: Female mammoth) is the largest building (by volume) in Zagreb and Croatia, as well as one of the largest apartment blocks in Europe. This apartment complex was built by Industrogradnja in 1974, and designed by prof. Đure Mir ...
(Mammoth) building (1974) designed by architects Đuro Mirković and Nevenka Postružnik ( Travno, Novi Zagreb, Božidara Magovca Street 3-63). * The fire-station in the Boulevard Masséna, Paris, designed by architect Jean Willerval and completed in 1971. The roof terrace has a tennis court. There is a swimming pool on the ground floor. * The Reserve Square Complex in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
, built 1969–1973. * The Riverside Plaza in
Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
, which opened in 1973. Its brutalist design and multi-colored panels were influenced by the Unité d'Habitation. * The Akbar Hotel in
Chanakyapuri Chanakyapuri () is a neighbourhood and diplomatic enclave established in the 1950s in New Delhi, India. It is also a sub-division of the New Delhi district and plays host to the majority of foreign Embassy, embassies in New Delhi. Chanakyapuri, ...
, New Delhi was designed by Shiv Nath Prasad and constructed from 1965-69. It shares many elements.


See also

* '' Plattenbau'' *
Tower block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdiction. ...
* University Apartments (Chicago, Illinois)


References


External links


External image: the first promotional poster of the Marseilles block by Le Corbusier with apartment plans, their square footage and price list (1952).


* ttp://www.marseille-citeradieuse.org Official website* * Malcolm Millais
''A critical appraisal of the design, construction and influence of the Unité d'Habitation, Marseilles, France''
Journal of Architecture and Urbanism 39(2):103-115, April 2015 * Yvan Delemontey
''The Marseille Unité d’Habitation after Le Corbusier: Or the Chronicle of a Permanent Construction Site ''
docomomo journal, April 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Unite D'habitation Le Corbusier buildings Brutalist architecture