Unité d'Habitation
Encyclopedia
The Unité d'Habitation (ynite dabitasjɔ̃, Housing Unit) is the name of a modernist residential housing design principle developed by Le Corbusier
, with the collaboration of painter-architect Nadir Afonso
. The concept formed the basis of several housing developments designed by him throughout Europe with this name.
- Provençal, "The House of the Mad"), is located in Marseille
, France, built 1947-1952. One of Le Corbusiers's most famous works, it proved enormously influential and is often cited as the initial inspiration of the Brutalist architectural style and philosophy.
The Marseille building, developed with Corbusier's designers Shadrach Woods
and George Candilis, comprises 337 apartment
s arranged over twelve stories, all suspended on large piloti
. The building also incorporates shops with architectural bookshop, sporting, medical and educational facilities, a hotel which is open to the public, and a gastronomic restaurant, Le Ventre de l'Architecte ("The Architect's Belly"). The flat roof is designed as a communal terrace
with sculptural ventilation stack
s, a running track, and a shallow paddling pool for children. The roof, where a number of theatrical performances have taken place, underwent renovation in 2010. It has unobstructed views of the Mediterranean and Marseille.
Inside, corridors run through the centre of the long axis of every third floor of the building, with each apartment lying on two levels, and stretching from one side of the building to the other, with a balcony
. Unlike many of the inferior system-built 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.
The building is constructed in béton brut
(rough-cast concrete
), as the hoped-for steel frame
proved too expensive in light of post-War shortages. The Unité in Marseille is pending designation as a World Heritage site by UNESCO
. It is designated a historic monument by the French Ministry of Culture.
.
Le Corbusier's utopian city living design was repeated in four more buildings with this name and a very similar design. The other Unités were built in Nantes
-Rezé
1955, Berlin
-Westend
1957, Briey
1963 and Firminy
1965.
The replacement material (béton brut) influenced the Brutalist
movement, and the building inspired several housing complexes including the Alton West estate in Roehampton
, London, and Park Hill in Sheffield
. These buildings have attracted a great deal of criticism. Other, more successful, manifestations of the Unité include Chamberlin, Powell and Bon
's Barbican Estate
(completed 1982), Gordon Tait
's Samuda Estate
, Isle of Dogs
(1965) and Ernő Goldfinger
's Balfron Tower
(1967) and Trellick Tower
(1972), all in London
.
The Reserve Square
Complex in Cleveland, Ohio
which was built 1969-1973 was also influenced by Le Corbusier's project.
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
, with the collaboration of painter-architect Nadir Afonso
Nadir Afonso
Nadir Afonso, GOSE is a geometric abstractionist painter. Formally trained in architecture, which he practiced early in his career with Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer, Nadir Afonso later studied painting in Paris and became one of the pioneers in Kinetic art, working alongside Victor Vasarely,...
. The concept formed the basis of several housing developments designed by him throughout Europe with this name.
Cité Radieuse
The first and most famous of these buildings, also known as Cité Radieuse (radiant city) and, informally, as La Maison du Fada (FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
- Provençal, "The House of the Mad"), is located in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, France, built 1947-1952. One of Le Corbusiers's most famous works, it proved enormously influential and is often cited as the initial inspiration of the Brutalist architectural style and philosophy.
The Marseille building, developed with Corbusier's designers Shadrach Woods
Shadrach Woods
Shadrach Woods was an American architect, urban planner and theorist. Schooled in engineering at New York University and in literature and philosophy at Trinity College, Dublin, Woods joined the Paris office of Le Corbusier in 1948...
and George Candilis, comprises 337 apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
s arranged over twelve stories, all suspended on large piloti
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 elevated houses such as Old Queenslanders in Australia's...
. The building also incorporates shops with architectural bookshop, sporting, medical and educational facilities, a hotel which is open to the public, and a gastronomic restaurant, Le Ventre de l'Architecte ("The Architect's Belly"). The flat roof is designed as a communal terrace
Terrace (gardening)
In gardening, a terrace is an element where a raised flat paved or gravelled section overlooks a prospect. A raised terrace keeps a house dry and provides a transition between the hard materials of the architecture and softer ones of the garden.-History:...
with sculptural ventilation stack
Natural ventilation
Natural ventilation is the process of supplying and removing air through an indoor space without using mechanical systems. It refers to the flow of external air to an indoor space as a result of pressure or temperatures differences. There are two types of natural ventilation occurring in...
s, a running track, and a shallow paddling pool for children. The roof, where a number of theatrical performances have taken place, underwent renovation in 2010. It has unobstructed views of the Mediterranean and Marseille.
Inside, corridors run through the centre of the long axis of every third floor of the building, with each apartment lying on two levels, and stretching from one side of the building to the other, with a balcony
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
. Unlike many of the inferior system-built 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.
The building is constructed in béton brut
Béton brut
Béton brut is architectural concrete left unfinished or roughly-finished after pouring and left exposed visually. The imprint of the wood or plywood forms used for pouring is usually present on the final surface....
(rough-cast concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
), as the hoped-for steel frame
Steel frame
Steel frame usually refers to a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal -beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame...
proved too expensive in light of post-War shortages. The Unité in Marseille is pending designation as a World Heritage site by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
. It is designated a historic monument by the French Ministry of Culture.
Other buildings and influences
In the block's planning, the architect drew on his study of the Soviet Communal housing project, the Narkomfin BuildingNarkomfin Building
The Narkomfin Building is a block of flats in Moscow, designed by Moisei Ginzburg with Ignaty Milinis in 1928, and finished in 1932. Only two of four planned buildings were completed. The building is squeezed between old and new territories of United States Embassy at 25, Novinsky Boulevard...
.
Le Corbusier's utopian city living design was repeated in four more buildings with this name and a very similar design. The other Unités were built in Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
-Rezé
Rezé
Rezé is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.It was also called Ratiate in the Middle Ages and Rezay in the High Middle Ages.Inhabitants of Rezé are called Rezéens.-Panorama:...
1955, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
-Westend
Westend (Berlin)
Westend is a locality of the Berlin borough Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf situated on the Spandauer Berg, the northern peak of the Teltow plateau between the river valleys of Spree and Havel...
1957, Briey
Briey
Briey is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.It is located above and in a steep section of the valley of the little River Woigot, some thirty kilometres to the west of the autoroute that connects Metz with Luxembourg...
1963 and Firminy
Firminy
Firminy is a commune in the Loire department in central France.It lies on the Ondaine River 8 mi. S.W. of Saint-Étienne by rail.-Sights:Two historic churches from the 12th and 16th centuries are located here...
1965.
The replacement material (béton brut) influenced the Brutalist
Brutalist architecture
Brutalist architecture is a style of architecture which flourished from the 1950s to the mid 1970s, spawned from the modernist architectural movement.-The term "brutalism":...
movement, and the building inspired several housing complexes including the Alton West estate in Roehampton
Roehampton
Roehampton is a district in south-west London, forming the western end of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies between the town of Barnes to the north, Putney to the east and Wimbledon Common to the south. The Richmond Park golf courses are west of the neighbourhood, and just south of these is...
, London, and Park Hill in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
. These buildings have attracted a great deal of criticism. Other, more successful, manifestations of the Unité include Chamberlin, Powell and Bon
Chamberlin, Powell and Bon
Chamberlin, Powell and Bon were one of the most important modernist architectural firms in post-war England.- Formation :The practice was founded in 1952 by Geoffry Powell , Peter Chamberlin and Christoph Bon , following Powell's win in the 1951 architectural competition for the Golden Lane Estate...
's Barbican Estate
Barbican Estate
The Barbican Estate is a residential estate built during the 1960s and the 1970s in the City of London, in an area once devastated by World War II bombings and today densely populated by financial institutions...
(completed 1982), Gordon Tait
Gordon Tait
Gordon Thomas Tait was a British architect, active in London.Tait was the eldest son of Scottish architect Thomas Smith Tait and Constance Hardy. He abandoned a career as a sculptor to follow in his father's footsteps. Between 1930 and 1935 he studied at the Architectural Association in London,...
's Samuda Estate
Samuda Estate
The Samuda Estate is on the east side of Manchester Road, in Cubitt Town on the Isle of Dogs. With 505 dwellings it is home to about 1,500 people and covers .-Historical background:...
, Isle of Dogs
Isle of Dogs
The Isle of Dogs is a former island in the East End of London that is bounded on three sides by one of the largest meanders in the River Thames.-Etymology:...
(1965) and Ernő Goldfinger
Erno Goldfinger
Ernő Goldfinger was a Hungarian-born Jewish architect and designer of furniture, and a key member of the architectural Modern Movement after he had moved to the United Kingdom.-Biography:Goldfinger was born in Budapest...
's Balfron Tower
Balfron Tower
Balfron Tower is a 27-storey housing block in Poplar, a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, UK. It forms part of the Brownfield Estate, an area of social housing between Chrisp Street Market and the A12 northern approach to the Blackwall Tunnel...
(1967) and Trellick Tower
Trellick Tower
Trellick Tower is a 31-storey block of flats in North Kensington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. It was designed in the Brutalist style by architect Ernő Goldfinger, after a commission from the Greater London Council in 1966, and completed in 1972...
(1972), all in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The Reserve Square
Reserve Square
Reserve Square is a two-building skyscraper complex in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Both buildings have 25 floors and are 266 feet high. Embassy Suites Tower houses a hotel and was built in 1969, and East Tower is a residential skyscraper completed in 1973....
Complex in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
which was built 1969-1973 was also influenced by Le Corbusier's project.