Unité d'Habitation
Le Corbusier · Marseille, France · 1952
The Unité d'Habitation in Marseille is a seminal example of Brutalist architecture and a key work of Le Corbusier. Completed in 1952, this residential block was designed to address post-war housing shortages, embodying Le Corbusier's concept of a "vertical garden city." Its robust concrete frame, expressing the material directly, includes a variety of communal facilities such as shops, a restaurant, hotel, and a rooftop athletic track and swimming pool. The building's modular design incorporates 337 duplex apartment units, accessed via internal corridors, which Le Corbusier termed "streets in the air." Its innovative use of pilotis lifts the main structure off the ground, creating open communal space. The Unité d'Habitation significantly influenced subsequent public housing projects and the broader Brutalist movement, demonstrating an integrated approach to urban living.