Unite d’ Habitation about

The Unite d’Habitation, completed in 1952, was the first in a new housing project series for Le Corbusier that centered on community living allowing all residents to shop, play, live, and come together in a “vertical garden city.”

The Union d’Habitation was a novelty, both for Le Corbusier and in terms of how to handle such a big complex to house over 1,600 people. Especially since, in comparison to the villas, Le Corbusier did not have many large-scale buildings.

The colourful side walls of the Unité’s balconies add to the contrast with the raw concrete finish of the front.

Despite the fact that there are 23 various apartment plans, the majority of the units are two double floor mirrored ones. These were known as the upper E apartment and the lower E apartment by Le Corbusier.

There are 337 flats.. Internal streets occur every three stories, with most apartments having double height areas and views of the east and west facades. The shopping street on the 7th floor is an outlier, as it is double height and well articulated on the outside facades. The roof is a communal zone for the residents, offering breathtaking views of Marseille.

Rough concrete he used ‘béton brut became the signature material for the Brutalism style.

With dimensions of 165m long, 24m wide, and 56m high, it commands a commanding presence in the environment. The roof is totally dedicated to public common area, with highly sculptural components on top. The bare concrete finish applied against rough timber molds to leave a stamp of the wood on the concrete adds to the building’s natural vibe. There was not enough steel available in postwar France to build the sleek steel planks that would have given the concrete an entirely different look.