Le Corbusier's Marseille project
The Cité Radieuse in Marseille, a 56-meter-high commercial street built by the architect Le Corbusier, cuts through the building at mid-height and includes a hotel-restaurant, a bookstore, and shops accessible by elevator from the apartments. A postwar housing solution
The building, which accommodates approximately 1,600 residents, was inaugurated on October 14, 1952, and has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2016. It was constructed following an order from the French state on July 20, 1945, to address the urgent need for housing in the aftermath of World War II, with the ruins covering 10 hectares and approximately 3,600 buildings destroyed. Design and construction details
The first stone was laid on October 14, 1947, and the building was completed exactly five years later. The structure, placed on stilts, is 24 meters wide and approximately 135 meters long, exceeding the length of a football field and freeing up the ground beneath it. Residential layout and features
The Le Corbusier Foundation states that the building is designed to accommodate 1,600 residents, the population of an entire village gathered under one roof. The housing units are available in 23 different types, most of them duplexes, ranging from a studio for a single person to an apartment designed for a family of eight children. Collaborative design elements
The Foundation specifies that, except for the south facade, the apartments are through-the-wall, and that the staircase of each duplex was created through a collaboration between Jean Prouvé, the Nancy workshops, and Le Corbusier. The principle rests on an idea of a vertical city where one can find everything needed to live on site. Internal streets and services
The street at mid-height and the roof garden are key features. According to the Foundation, the "street" extends over two levels, on the 7th and 8th floors, and other internal streets serve the apartments. They allow residents to return home, but also allow the grocer of the Unité to deliver groceries in front of the doors and deliver mail. Public spaces and accessibility
This street houses a hotel-restaurant, a bookstore, and shops, with part of the equipment still existing, including a specialized architecture bookstore. Above, the roof garden is also fully used and is accessible to the public. It contains a kindergarten with a small pool, a running track, a gym, and an outdoor theater. Community life and challenges
The density of services has a downside, with the gym being one of the most visited places, and common life in such a complete building not always being simple for the neighbors. The Marseillais quickly found their word for this concrete giant: the "Maison du fada." The nickname, originally mocking, has remained, and today it is said with a certain tenderness. Historical recognition and restoration
The building, in turn, has crossed the decades with its scars, including a serious fire on February 9, 2012. Official recognition came in stages. The Cité Radieuse is protected as a historical monument by a decree of 1995, completed in 2023. It joined the UNESCO World Heritage in 2016, as part of the series of works by Le Corbusier. Contemporary use and art
At the top, the gym has housed since 2013 the Mamo, a contemporary art center installed by designer Ora Ito.
