¡»Architect:Le Corbusier
¡»Location:Marseilles,France
¡»Date:1946 to 1952
¡»Building Type:multifamily housing
¡»Construction System:concrete
¡»Style:Modern

¡iNotes¡j

Housing slab, raised off ground on sculpted legs.

t's little wonder that Le Corbusier's nine-storey edifice was nicknamed La Maison
du Fada or 'house of the crazy' in Provencal patois. Post-war overcrowding in east
Marseille called for desperate measures and Le Corbusier's grand scheme, known as
the Unité d'Habitation, was to push thousands of local residents skyward in
self-contained units. The master plan also included the 'Le Corbusier' hotel
on the third floor.

Temporary residents are still welcome to make the 30-minute taxi ride from
Marseille airport to bed down in a true vision of the future. The 300-apartment
block retains heaps of original features, such as the Charlotte Perrian fitted
kitchens and huge comma-shaped lamps. Many of the hotel rooms are a little on
the small and spartan side but are as well kept as the rest of the building,
allowing you that brief taste of urban utopia.

The multi-coloured façade is so painted to hide some dodgy concrete,
but Corbusier did have the foresight to surround the Unité with green
open spaces and trees, and the rooftop garden offers corking views of
the Med. Thanks to another natty piece of urban planning, the hotel is
only four Metro stops away from the centre of town.

Architecture enthusiasts (and there are a hell of a lot of them staying
at Le Corbusier) can soak up Marseille's redeveloped vieux port area
before heading off on the airport shuttle bus from St Charles station.
Finally, ten points if you spot a polo-necked designer in Le Corbusier's
bar: these trendy types are allegedly snapping up apartments here in droves.

¡iCommentary¡j

Le Corbusier's most influential late work was his first significant postwar
structure¡Xthe UnitÈ d'Habitation in Marseilles of 1947-52. The giant,
twelve-story apartment block for 1.600 people is the late modern counterpart
of the mass housing schemes of the 1920s, similarly built to alleviate a
severe postwar housing shortage. Although the program of the building is
elaborate, structurally it is simple: a rectilinear ferroconcrete grid,
into which are slotted precast individual apartment units, like 'bottles
into a wine rack' as the architect put it. Through ingenious planning,
twenty-three different apartment configurations were provided to
acccommodate single persons and families as large as ten, nearly
all with double-height living rooms and the deep balconies that form
the major external feature.

¡XMarvin Trachtenberg and Isabelle Hyman.
Architecture: from Prehistory to Post-Modernism. p541.

¡iLe Corbusier' hotel¡j

¡»Room rates :

Small rooms with balcony and Charlotte Perrian furniture, £á45. Room enough
for four people, with oak floors adding to the charm, £á70. Same as the large
rooms, but with totally original fittings and a panoramic terrace, £á85.
Breakfast £á10.

¡»Rooms to ask for :

Room 24: Huge room with solid wood floor. Pick this one for the hotel's
finest views, with seascapes to die for.
Room 340: Find an original kitchen together with Le Corbusier's largest
terrace in this 32m² studio.

¡»Number of rooms :21
¡»Phone :00 33 4 91 16 78 00
¡»FAX :00 33 4 91 16 78 28
¡»Address :280 bd Michelet, 13008 Marseille.
¡»Website :www.hotellecorbusier.com