4 unités LC - Architecture Insights

18 Ibid.
19 Ibid., See also article in Werk, Bauen + Wohnen, Vol. 79/46, No. 4, Apr.
1992, The housing machine: Unités d’habitation by Le Corbusier, p. 24, “In
Briey-en-Forêt, …the Unité served as unpopular emergency accomodation
for foreign workers (in the nearby mines)”.
20 In 1978, 102 apartments were vacated, by 1979, it was 130 apartments,
and in 1981, 161 of the 339 apartments were unoccupied. (Again from notes
written and provided by La Première Rue.)
21 Also from notes of La Première Rue.
22 Ibid.
23 Ibid.
24 Ibid.
25 Ibid.
26 The nursing school still occupies the entire northern end of the building. It
has a reception area off the first internal ‘street’, and has a separate stair
access at the northern end of the building.
27 From notes of La Première Rue.
28 Ibid.
29 Ibid.
30 Ibid.
31 Many architects and artists have displayed support for the ‘Unité’ of Briey
over the years, amongst them Philip Johnson, Joseph Abram and André
Wogensky.
32 La Première Rue previously ran programme of artwork shop courses and
apprenticeships for young artists, attracting people of a great variety of
179 180
backgrounds, from all over the world. This programme, however, was
recently brought to an end due to a lack of finance. Artists and designers that
work and display in the studios do, however, also come from all corners of
the globe – from North and South America, England, Belgium, Italy,
Switzerland, Japan…, as well as from all over France. (Information from the
interview with Steve Vitale, see note 8)
In 1994, the association also began an annual architectural book conference
and exhibition (Le Salon du livre d’architecture), which has become a large
and important event for the community of the ‘Unité’ in Briey-en-Forêt.
The conference runs for three days and attracts many people from many
countries.
33 A particular example of the pride that La Première Rue have aided to
establish, was in the organisation of an exhibition in 1998. This exhibition
arranged for the artworks created by the children of the nearby Pingusson
school to be exhibited in the building’s gallery space. The children were asked
to create works related to their living environment in the ‘Unité’ building.
The exhibition was a great success, not only in educating the children and
their families of the history of the building, but equally in establishing certain
friendships and bonds with the artists of La Première Rue. To maintain this
communication with the children and residents of the building, another
exhibition of the children’s work was organised last year (2000) in May,
displaying their visions of “La maison du futur” (‘The House of the Future’).
The exhibition was presented in conjunction with now annual book show and
conference – Le Salon du livre d’architecture .
34 Indicated by the range of artists and designers it has attracted, and suggested
in the article of DOMUS, No. 749, May 1993, P. Johnson, J. Kipnis:
Installations at the Unité in Briey, pp. 4-5.
35 Information and opinions of the small café /general store now at the base
of the building, was obtained from the interview with Steve Vitale (see note
8).
36 Information regarding the exhibitions displayed in the gallery was provided
by La Première Rue. Some of these exhibitions included: photographs by
Robert Bourdeau (July-Sept., 1999), Pascal Volpez (June-Aug., 1997), and
Hiroshi Sugimoto + Nicholas Nixon (July-Aug., 2000); the architectural
works of Diener & Diener (March-Apr., 1999), Atelier Beaudouin (May-June,