4 unités LC - Architecture Insights

1 Ragot, Gilles + Dion, Mathilde, Le Corbusier en France: Réalisations et
Projets, Elecla Moniteur, Paris, 1st Ed., 1987, p. 181.
2 At the opening of the building in 1961, the building contained 339
apartments. According the building’s present management, however, it now in
fact contains around 345 apartments: 109 rented by their managing body
(KLM Résidence), 145 privately owned (of which 59 are owner occupied), 57
nurse accommodation studios, and 34 apartments belonging to the artists’
association of La Première Rue.
3 Ragot, Gilles + Dion, Mathilde, Le Corbusier en France: Réalisations et
Projets, Elecla Moniteur, Paris, 1st Ed., 1987, p. 181.
4 Grandidier, Daniel, Alsace, Franche-Comté, Lorraine – Terres Corbuséennes
(2ème partie), 1991, p. 70.
5 Georges-Henri Pingusson (b. 1894 – d. 1978) became the first Chef de la
Reconstruction for Moselle region in 1946 (hence his envolvment in the
‘Unité’ of Briey in this region). Pingusson had obtained a degree in
mechanical and electrical engineering at the Ecole Supérieure in Paris, 1913,
and later went on to do architecture at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, graduating
in 1925. His architectural style and interests progressed from a type of ‘neoregionalism’
(displayed in his early domestic work) to a pure Modernist style.
Pingusson’s most famous works are the hotel Latitude 43 in Saint-Tropez
(1931-32), Le Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation, Paris (1961), and the
Eglise Saint Pierre, Borny, near Metz (1959), constructed on the foundations
of the former ancient church of 1860 that was destroyed during the war.
6 Grandidier, Daniel, Alsace, Franche-Comté, Lorraine – Terres Corbuséennes
(2ème partie), 1991, pp.70-71. This aim was equally shared by the later
developed “Firminy-Vert” (Green Firminy), a reference also to Le Corbusier’s
concept of the ‘ville verte’, in which his last ‘Unité’ building was constructed.
7 Ragot, Gilles + Dion, Mathilde, Le Corbusier en France: Projets et
Réalisations, Collection Architextes, Le Moniteur, Paris, 2nd Ed., 1997, p.
181.
8 This information regarding the history of the town was obtained in an
interview with an architect and graphic designer, Steven Vitale, originally
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from the USA, who has practiced from a studio on the first level of the
‘Unité’ in Briey for over 3 years. He had himself studied the urban designs
and proposals of the town’s planner, Pingusson, for a research document he
had prepared some years earlier.
9 Because of the location of Pingusson’s school at the base of the building,
the service with in the building became unnecessary. This was probably quite
fortunate considering the problems experienced by the roof top schools as
previously described for the other ‘Unités’. Because of these restrictions to
the design, however, no terrace at all was constructed on the roof in Briey.
And as a result, one of the most characteristic features of the ‘Unité’ (albeit
superficial rather than practical), is totally lacking, thus diminishing the
design concept quite drastically. The roof of the ‘Unité’ in Briey is now used
as an experimental site for engineers to test the structural integrity of the
concrete. Problems with the concrete structure of the building have more
recently become apparent with cracking (mainly on the facades) due to the
climatic variations experienced with in the area.
10 Grandidier, Daniel, Alsace, Franche-Comté, Lorraine – Terres
Corbuséennes (2ème partie), 1991, p. 71.
11 Information taken from notes written and provided by La Première Rue
regarding the building and its history (author not credited).
12 Ibid.
13 Accounts of the building state during this time were obtained through an
interview with a current resident, photographer and member of La Première
Rue, Jacques Magali.
14 Von Moos, Stanislaus, Le Corbusier, Elements of a Synthesis, The MIT
Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2nd Ed., 1980, p. 163.
15 M. Magali (see note 13) recounted these tales he had been told by other
older residents who had been amongst its original inhabitants.
16 Information from notes written and provided by La Première Rue.
17 Ibid.