4 unités LC - Architecture Insights

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Appendix CHA – Unité Berlin-Charlottenburg The ‘Unité d’habitation’, Berlin-Charlottenburg, Germany (1956-58) The ‘Unité d’habitation’ (also known as the CorbusierHaus) in Berlin was the third of Le Corbusier’s constructed ‘Unités’. It contains around 400 apartments and can accommodate up to 2000 people. 1 219 220 The ‘Unité’ in Berlin was constructed for the international ‘Inter- Bau’ exhibition of 1957 that exhibited models of mass housing developed as solutions for post war reconstruction. Among the architects that contributed to the exhibition, along with Le Corbusier, were Alvar Aalto, Walter Gropius and Bruno Taut. The site for the exhibition, in the Tiergarten Park on Olympic Hill, was designed by G. Jobst and W. Kreuer. Le Corbusier’s ‘Unité’, however, was actually constructed just outside the perimeter of the site in order to accommodate its grand scale. 2 Le Corbusier was in fact thoroughly dissatisfied with the ‘Unité’ in Berlin, and made his disapproval of the final product publicly known – “Despite his strenuous objections, Le Corbusier’s working plans for the Unité in Berlin were not respected. For all intensive purposes, the building corresponds, in its functional aspects to an Unité d’habitation of Congruent Size. However the manner of execution and the aesthetical interpretation are quite incompatible with Le Corbusier’s desires.” 3
Le Corbusier felt that this ‘Unité’ had not complied with certain principles he considered essential to the design – aspects, such as the inclusion of certain communal facilities, and mostly the employment of the ‘Modulor’ in its construction (the German builders had refused to use it). As the design had to be redone using metres, the proportions of this ‘Unité’ in Berlin are quite different to the others in France, some measurements even increased by as much as a metre. 4 Another notable difference in the Berlin ‘Unité’, is that the characteristic pilotis with taperd edges underneath the building were replaced by a double row of blade shaped concrete columns arranged at varying intervals. 5 A section of these columns was even enclosed to provide an area for shops, counteracting the principle of the pilotis – to provide spatial and visual flow of the landscape beneath the building mass. The use of ‘polychromy’ in the Berlin ‘Unité’ is also quite different to that of the ‘Unités’ in France, not only in the hue of the colours used, but equally in the diagonal patterns with which the loggias of the exterior facades are painted. 221 222 The ‘Unité’ of Berlin is not compared to the other four ‘Unités’ in this thesis, as the focus of the argument lies in the situation of the buildings in France and the sociological issues surrounding them in terms of their current or initial government housing status in this country. 1 BOESIGER, W., GIRSBERGER, H., (Ed.), text by Le Corbusier, Le Corbusier 1910-65, Thames and Hudson, London, 1967, p. 153. 2 GANS, Deborah The Le Corbusier Guide, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, Revised Ed., 2000, pp. 178-79. 3 BOESIGER, W., GIRSBERGER, H., (Ed.), text by Le Corbusier, Le Corbusier 1910-65, Thames and Hudson, London, 1967, p. 153. 4 GANS, Deborah The Le Corbusier Guide, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, Revised Ed., 2000, pp. 179. 5 PARDO, Vittorio Franchetti, Le Corbusier (The life and work of the artist illustrated with 80 colour plates), trans. Pearl Sanders, Thames and Hudson, London, 1971, pp. 27-28.
Page 1:
Isabelle Toland B Sc. (Arch) Hons.
Page 4 and 5:
Acknowledgements In writing this th
Page 6 and 7:
Preface Observations and Visitation
Page 8 and 9:
Introduction Singular / Plural The
Page 10 and 11:
1. Dynamiting a grand barre on the
Page 12 and 13:
and the CIAM (Congrès Internationa
Page 14 and 15:
“in my career …I have devoted m
Page 16 and 17:
The City Although during his format
Page 18 and 19:
4. A sketch of the centre of Paris,
Page 20 and 21:
Le Corbusier attributed certain fea
Page 22 and 23:
From the design of ‘Immeubles-Vil
Page 24 and 25:
12. Immeuble Locatif à la Molitor,
Page 26 and 27:
1 Le Corbusier, The Marseilles Bloc
Page 28 and 29:
23 The translation given in Boesige
Page 30 and 31:
42 The findings of the CIAM at this
Page 32 and 33:
Soleil, espace, verdure... The ‘U
Page 34 and 35:
Building Blocks 20. The ‘Modulor
Page 36 and 37:
Industrial Production The use of
Page 38 and 39:
An Individual Home Independence 27.
Page 40 and 41:
31. The ‘Unité d’habitation’
Page 42 and 43:
35. A ‘brise-soleil’ on the fac
Page 44 and 45:
39. A classroom of the rooftop pre-
Page 46 and 47:
22 As the majority of apartments st
Page 48 and 49:
4 Unités in France / 4 Dreams + Re
Page 50 and 51:
Atlantic Ocean 43. Location of the
Page 52 and 53:
I. M.MI - Unité Marseille The ‘U
Page 54 and 55:
Even before the completion of its c
Page 56 and 57:
50. Looking down a section of the c
Page 58 and 59:
55. View from the balcony of an apa
Page 60 and 61:
I.4 Facilities The ‘Unité’ in
Page 62 and 63: The Offices Also situated on the mi
Page 64 and 65: The pool, which had been left crack
Page 66 and 67: 75. The roof terrace overrun by chi
Page 68 and 69: of the building maintenance. It was
Page 70 and 71: II. N RE - Unité Rezé-les-Nantes
Page 72 and 73: 78. The polychromatic painted ‘lo
Page 74 and 75: II.3 Context 83-84. The ‘Unité d
Page 76 and 77: The Parkland The Entry Foyer The pa
Page 78 and 79: The Rooftop School 91-92. Windows l
Page 80 and 81: The strength of the building co-ope
Page 82 and 83: were located independently, on a ne
Page 84 and 85: III.1 History The ‘Unité’ in B
Page 86 and 87: But the region was in serious econo
Page 88 and 89: 101-102. Restored interiors of apar
Page 90 and 91: The Parkland An Espace Le Corbusier
Page 92 and 93: 18 Ibid. 19 Ibid., See also article
Page 94 and 95: IV. FIR. UN - Unité Firminy-Vert
Page 96 and 97: And this was not the only problem h
Page 98 and 99: The residents of the ‘Unité’ h
Page 100 and 101: 120. Looking up to the ‘Unité’
Page 102 and 103: A more vegetated area of the parkla
Page 104 and 105: The Roof Terrace 131-132. The resur
Page 106 and 107: 1 Ragot, Gilles + Dion, Mathilde Le
Page 108 and 109: them over the past years. 32 One of
Page 110 and 111: But the ‘Unité’ of Firminy-Ver
Page 114 and 115: Illustration Acknowledgements 1. T
Page 116 and 117: Bibliography Affron, Matthew + Antl
Page 118: Sbriglio, Jacques, (trans. Sarah Pa
show all

4 unités LC - Architecture Insights

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?