Le Corbusier

One of the Le Corbusier’s most well-known architectural works is the “Unité d’habitation” in Marseille. The term simply means “housing unit”. This is a type of residential block which Le Corbusier began developing in 1925. The housing unit was built in Marseille between 1945 and 1952 and was the first of its kind. Others would follow later in cities such as Berlin.

The housing unit is a significant testimonial to Le Corbusier’s long years spent grappling with architecture and urban planning. He conceptualized the housing unit as a vertical city containing numerous dwellings within a confined space. The building also includes a shopping street with shops and a hotel with a restaurant.

The elongated body of the building stands on stilts. The façade was made of exposed concrete and was only partially painted. For the first time, Le Corbusier used his Modulor proportion system in this building. The apartments were inserted into the structure like drawers. They have standardized rooms for which Le Corbusier was inspired by the monks’ cells in monasteries. He realized his idea of a “machine for living” here. This term is often misunderstood as being misanthropic. However, the concept referred above all to technology and industry, fields which played an important role in Le Corbusier’s attitude.

The building is 135 metres long and 56 metres high and contains 330 dwellings for about 1,700 people. All apartments are equipped with modern conveniences such as running water, sanitary facilities, electric cookers and central heating.

Le Corbusier had “concrete hills” erected on the roof of the building. These looked like natural hills, but the building material used was actually concrete. In this way, he tried to bridge the contrast between the man-made order of the living unit on the one hand and nature on the other.