La Cité Radieuse, Marseille: Le Corbusier's Vertical Village
337 flats, a shopping street on the third floor, a rooftop turned art centre: the 1952 unit is open to visits — and still lived in.
1 MIN · 2 OBJECTS IDENTIFIEDBoulevard Michelet, Marseille. Set on its pilotis of raw concrete, the 1952 “Maison du Fada” is the most inhabited manifesto in the history of modern architecture: 337 flats, seventeen storeys, and one idea — to hold an entire village upright.
The vertical village
Here Le Corbusier distils his whole vocabulary: the Modulor that scales every room to the body, the double-height flats running clear through the block, the interior street on the third floor with its shops and hotel, and that rooftop shaped like an ocean-liner deck — nursery school, gymnasium, and since 2013 the MAMO, the art centre installed by Ora-ïto.
The original interiors
The kitchens designed with Charlotte Perriand, the built-in storage, the sheets of glass: the flats “in their original state” have become liveable collector's pieces — and the dismantled elements (doors, lockers, light fittings) fetch fierce prices at public auction.
Visiting
The building, listed and inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, can be toured with the tourist office — or experienced by sleeping at the Hôtel Le Corbusier, in the heart of the structure.
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Every piece mentioned, with its alternatives — from vintage to dupe.
Gallery
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