The failing of the Unité d'habitation explained in 9 minutes

Summary

The video script narrates the story of Le Corbusier's ambitious Unité d'Habitation project, a modernist housing unit designed to provide urban residents with all the amenities of a small town within a single building. Despite its innovative approach, the project faced numerous challenges, including service installation issues, flawed sun protection, and an expensive, time-consuming construction process. The unique spatial design of the apartments and the inclusion of communal facilities such as shops, a hotel, and a rooftop with a running track and kindergarten aimed to foster a sense of community. However, the project was criticized for its impracticality and high costs, ultimately leading to a mixed legacy in the field of architecture.

Takeaways

• 🏙️ The Unité d'Habitation was designed by Le Corbusier as a response to the post-war housing crisis, aiming to provide a self-contained living environment with all the amenities of a small town within a single building.
• 📈 Le Corbusier's earlier housing projects faced significant challenges, with some being widely regarded as failures, yet these experiences influenced his approach to the Unité d'Habitation.
• 🌞 The building features a 'brise soleil' (sun break) to manage sunlight and heat, but it was not effective on all sides of the building, leading to residents installing additional sun blinds.
• 🌳 Despite the concept of pilotis (columns) to create open space at ground level for nature, the reality was a concrete-dominated landscape without the intended greenery.
• 💸 The construction of the Unité d'Habitation was more expensive and took longer than initially planned, highlighting issues with cost and time management.
• 🏡 The apartments were designed with a unique spatial experience in mind, featuring a narrow width and split-level layout, which was intended to encourage a back-and-forth movement within the home.
• 🚿 The entrance to the apartments was through the kitchen, followed by the dining area and then the living area, with sleeping quarters and bathroom spaces arranged in a specific order.
• 🛒 The building's commercial spaces, intended to serve as 'streets' for local shops, were not as successful as envisioned, with many now being used as offices.
• 👪 Le Corbusier aimed to foster a sense of community within the building, with communal facilities such as a rooftop kindergarten, running track, and open-air theatre.
• 🧱 The building's services, such as water and gas, were problematic due to their integration within the concrete structure, leading to difficulties in installation and maintenance.
• 🏢 The Unité d'Habitation is a towering concrete structure that has had a significant influence on 20th-century architecture, despite its flaws and the criticisms it faced.

Q & A

What was the primary need that Le Corbusier aimed to address with his housing solutions in the 1950s?

Le Corbusier aimed to address the need for affordable and efficient housing solutions for the rapidly growing urban population in the post-war era of the 1950s.

What was the name of the housing unit that Le Corbusier designed that became one of the most influential buildings of the 20th century?

The Unité d'Habitation was the housing unit designed by Le Corbusier that became one of the most influential buildings of the 20th century.

What was the main concept behind Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation?

The main concept behind the Unité d'Habitation was to offer residents all the amenities of a small town within a single building, creating a self-contained modernist housing unit.

What were some of the early housing projects proposed by Le Corbusier that were considered failures?

Early housing projects by Le Corbusier that were considered failures include the social housing project at Pessac in 1924, the Swiss Pavilion to house Swiss students at the University of Paris, and the Cite de Refuges.

What was the name of the project in Moscow, Russia, that was inspired by Le Corbusier’s 5 points of modern architecture?

The project in Moscow, Russia, inspired by Le Corbusier’s 5 points of modern architecture was called the Narkomfin, also known as the social condenser.

What was the main issue with the Narkomfin project in terms of its functionality and acceptance by the residents?

The main issue with the Narkomfin project was that it failed to meet the residents' needs, leading to them hating the building and deserting it quickly. The functionalist design that aimed to condense public and private life in a box did not work as intended.

What was the original estimated cost and time frame for the construction of the Unité d'Habitation?

The original estimated cost for the construction of the Unité d'Habitation was 35 million francs, with a predicted time frame of one year.

What were some of the problems associated with the pilotis and services in the Unité d'Habitation?

The pilotis were supposed to free up the ground for pedestrians and greenery, but there was no grass or trees. Additionally, the services such as water, gas, and other systems were not properly installed, making maintenance awkward and expensive. The services were placed inside the concrete structure, which was a basic mistake.

How did Le Corbusier's design for the brise soleil, or sun break, fail to meet the expectations of the residents?

The brise soleil was designed to exclude the sun in summer while allowing it to enter in winter. However, it only worked effectively on the south side of the building. The sun entered from the east and west sides without protection from the brise soleil, leading to residents being unhappy and adding their own sun blinds.

What was the spatial experience like for residents living in the Unité d'Habitation?

The spatial experience was unique, with apartments arranged linearly due to their narrow width, limiting movement but allowing for a back-and-forth traversal and a vertical experience with the use of stairs. The layout included an entrance through the kitchen, a dining area, a double-height living area, and a sleeping area above the dining area on the upper level.

What communal facilities did Le Corbusier include in the Unité d'Habitation to foster a sense of community?

Le Corbusier included communal facilities such as 'streets' on levels seven and eight with local shops, hotel rooms, cafés, and restaurants. Additionally, the roof featured a kindergarten, a running track, a paddling pool, a gymnasium, and an open-air theatre.

What was the critique of Le Corbusier's approach to designing the Unité d'Habitation?

The critique was that Le Corbusier's innovation led to an overpriced and dysfunctional project. His designs, although aiming to meet the needs of standardized lives, were seen as being tailored more to his own vision than to the actual needs of the residents.

Outlines

00:00

🏗️ Post-War Housing Innovations and Le Corbusier's Vision

The first paragraph introduces the historical context of the 1950s, where there was an urgent need for affordable and efficient housing due to rapid urban population growth. Le Corbusier, a visionary architect, proposed a modernist housing unit called the Unité d'Habitation, which aimed to provide all the amenities of a small town within a single building. Despite previous failures in social housing projects, such as the one at Pessac and others in Paris, Le Corbusier continued to develop innovative solutions for housing crises. His work was influenced by his '5 points of modern architecture,' which were reflected in projects like the Narkomfin in Moscow, Russia. The Unité d'Habitation, commissioned in Marseille, was intended to be a cost-effective solution to the universal housing crisis, but it faced challenges in construction time and budget overruns.

05:04

🏙️ Challenges and Features of the Unité d'Habitation

The second paragraph discusses the various challenges and unique features of the Unité d'Habitation. Key issues included the use of pilotis, which were supposed to create an open space at ground level but resulted in an uninviting concrete landscape. The building's services were problematic, with systems like water and gas being difficult and expensive to install and maintain due to their placement within the concrete structure. Le Corbusier's invention, the brise soleil, was intended to control sunlight and heat but was ineffective on the east and west sides of the building, leading residents to install their own sun blinds. The spatial experience within the apartments was unconventional, with a linear layout and a vertical experience provided by stairs. The entrance to the apartments was through the kitchen, followed by a dining area and a double-height living space. The apartments also featured long, windowless corridors, which offered a depressing visual and spatial experience. Communal facilities were provided on levels seven and eight, including shops, a hotel, and eateries, but these were not as successful as intended. The rooftop featured a kindergarten, running track, paddling pool, gymnasium, and open-air theatre, some of which are still in use today. The outro reflects on Le Corbusier's innovative but often impractical approach to design, suggesting that his projects may have been more about his personal vision than the actual needs of the people he intended to serve.

Keywords

💡Affordable Housing

Affordable housing refers to residential units that are priced or rented at a level that is affordable to individuals or families earning a certain percentage of the area's median income. In the video's context, it is a central theme as the 1950s post-war era faced a significant need for such housing solutions to accommodate the urban population growth. The Unité d'Habitation was designed as a response to this need.

💡Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, and urban planner whose ideas influenced the field of architecture globally. In the video, he is the central figure who proposed the Unité d'Habitation as a solution to the housing crisis, making his name synonymous with modernist architecture and urban planning.

💡Unité d'Habitation

The Unité d'Habitation is a modernist housing complex designed by Le Corbusier in Marseille, France. It is characterized by its large size, self-contained living units, and the incorporation of various amenities within a single building. The video discusses its design, construction, and the influence it had on 20th-century architecture.

💡Pilotis

Pilotis are slender columns that elevate a building off the ground, creating an open space underneath. They are one of Le Corbusier's 'Five Points of Architecture.' In the context of the video, pilotis were intended to free up ground space for pedestrians and greenery, although the actual implementation at the Unité d'Habitation did not meet these expectations.

💡Brise Soleil

Brise soleil, or sun break, is a design feature that Le Corbusier invented to control sunlight entering a building. It is a horizontal concrete sunshade that forms part of the building's façade. The video points out that while the concept was innovative, its practical application was flawed, as it did not provide adequate protection from the sun on all sides of the building.

💡Spatial Experience

Spatial experience refers to how the physical arrangement and design of a space affect the way people perceive and interact with that space. The video describes the unique spatial experience of the Unité d'Habitation's apartments, which are linearly arranged with a narrow width, leading to a different way of moving through the living space compared to traditional layouts.

💡Communal Facilities

Communal facilities are shared spaces or services within a residential building that are accessible to all residents. The video mentions that Le Corbusier included communal areas such as shops, a hotel, and a rooftop with a running track, kindergarten, and other amenities in the Unité d'Habitation to foster a sense of community among residents.

💡Modernist Architecture

Modernist architecture is a movement characterized by simplicity, functionality, and rationality in design. It often emphasizes new technologies and materials, such as concrete and steel. The Unité d'Habitation is an example of modernist architecture, as it incorporates Le Corbusier's 'Five Points' and aims to provide efficient living spaces.

💡Housing Crisis

A housing crisis refers to a situation where there is a significant shortage of affordable and adequate housing. In the video, the post-war 1950s are described as a time of housing crisis, which Le Corbusier aimed to address with his innovative housing solutions, such as the Unité d'Habitation.

💡Urban Planning

Urban planning is the process of designing and shaping the physical and social features of cities and towns. It involves considerations of land use, transportation, and community facilities. The video discusses Le Corbusier's approach to urban planning, particularly his vision for the Unité d'Habitation as a self-contained community within a city.

💡Architectural Failure

An architectural failure refers to a building or structure that does not meet its intended purpose or fails to perform adequately in terms of functionality, aesthetics, or both. The video highlights several instances where Le Corbusier's projects, including the Unité d'Habitation, faced criticism and were considered failures due to various issues such as cost overruns, maintenance problems, and poor living conditions.

Highlights

In the 1950s, there was a great need for affordable and efficient housing solutions for the rapidly growing urban population.

Le Corbusier proposed a self-contained modernist housing unit called the Unité d'Habitation that would offer all amenities of a small town within a single building.

Le Corbusier's idea was to solve the housing problem with innovative designs, despite facing challenges and failures in his early projects.

The Narkomfin project in Moscow, Russia was inspired by Le Corbusier's 5 points of modern architecture but failed to meet residents' needs and was abandoned.

The Unité d'Habitation in Marseille was Le Corbusier's last chance to realize his vision for social housing, with the condition that he was not bound by any rules.

The Unité is a towering 134m long, 24m wide, and 55m high concrete structure with 17 storeys, including shops, a hotel, and social facilities on the roof.

The building features standardized split-level, L-shaped apartments arranged in opposing pairs, with full-length corridors at 7 levels for access.

The construction of the Unité was predicted to take 1 year and cost 35 million francs, but it took 5 years and the cost increased to 2.8 billion francs.

The use of pilotis to free up ground space for pedestrians and greenery was a key feature, but the area below the building remains a concrete landscape.

Service installations like water and gas were awkward and expensive to maintain due to being placed inside the concrete structure.

Le Corbusier's brise soleil sunshade was intended to control sunlight but only worked effectively on the south side of the building.

The apartments have a unique linear layout with a narrow width of 3.66m, limiting movement but allowing for a back-and-forth traversal and vertical experience.

Residents enter their apartments through a 75m long, low windowless corridor, offering a depressing visual and spatial experience.

The building was designed to foster a sense of community with 'streets' on levels 7 and 8 for shops, and a roof featuring a kindergarten, running track, pool, gym, and theatre.

The commercial aspect of the building was a failure, with most shops now converted into offices for architects and designers.

Le Corbusier's innovative approach to social housing, while visionary, resulted in overpriced and dysfunctional projects that did not fully meet the needs of standardized lives.

His designs were more focused on his personal vision rather than the practical needs of the residents.

Transcripts

Intro : In the post-war era of the 1950s, there  

was a great need for affordable and efficient  housing solutions for the rapidly growing urban  

population. In this context, a young architect by  the name of Le Corbusier came up with a radical  

idea - a self-contained modernist housing unit  that would offer residents all the amenities of  

a small town within a single building. The result  was the Unité d'Habitation, a towering concrete  

structure that would go on to become one of the  most influential buildings of the 20th century 

Background : Le Corbusier,s  

idea was to propose a solution for the housing  problem. In the 1920s, he proposed many housing  

projects that put his clients through hell. In 1924 he designed a social housing project  

at Pessac which is widely known as a failure. Then  the frensh government gave him another chance to  

design for them blocks of social housing both  in paris; the first one was the swiss pavilion  

fto house swiss students at the university  of paris , a project that was covered with  

aliminium sunshades to protect the students  from being fried inside the concerete block 

The second one was the cite de refuges a project  where the salvation army suffered from the heat of  

the summer and windows that couldn’t be opened And despite of these failing projects,  

le Corbusier continued to work  on his housing crysis sollutions. 

In 1928 there was a project that was inspired by  li Corbusier’s 5 points of modern architecture.  

The Narkomfin or the social condenser in  moscco, Russia . a six storey building with  

a roof terrace, standing on Corbusian pilotis.  On the first and second floors were duplex flats  

called type K. On the third to fifth floors were  type F flats which had a more complex geometry.  

It,s designer aimed for a functionalist design  that condesned public and private life in a box  

to make different communities interact with  each other. The project failed even befor it  

was finished, the residents hated the building and  they deserted it very quickly. And by the end of  

the twentieth century hardly anyone lived in it. Le Corbusier commented on the project saying that  

it was flawed and defective but it is clear the  this project strongly influenced his approache  

for social housing. And it was abviouse  in his swiss pavilion and cite de refuge. 

Between 1931 and 45 he proposed many  unites projects that where rejected 

But the frensh government ended up giving le  Corbusier an another and the last chance with  

a building commission in marseillia. And  speaking about this project he said : ‘’ I  

will make a great building for these people on one  condition, I am not to be buond by any rules. ‘’ 

Plan Description : The unite is  

one hundred and thirty-four metres long, just  over twenty-four metres wide and nearly fifty-five  

metres high. There are seventeen storeys, with  levels seven and eight used for shops and a hotel. 

The roof has a running track, a kindergarten and  other social facilities. Full length corridors at  

seven levels give access to apartments and shops. Standardised split-level, L-shaped apartments lie  

right across the building, with a balcony at  either end. Apartments are arranged in opposing  

pairs, with the entrance at the lower level  in one, and at the upper level in the other,  

with an access corridor at every third  level. The whole building stands on pilotis. 

This project is supposed to be a solution to  a universal housing crysis, so it should have  

to be Quique to build and at low cost. But as useual it failed at this level,  

the construction was predcted to be finished  in one year and to cost 35 million francs,  

but it extended to 5 years and the cost doubled  8 times to an estimate of 2.8 billion francs. 

Problems : • Pilotis were one of the sacred five  

points. Not only were they sacred a priority, but  in this case they were a key feature of the Unité,  

to free up the ground below for pedestrians,  grass and trees; but there is no grass or trees,  

just a grim, grey, threatening concretescape. • Services in the building were also a problem,  

water, gaz, and other systems installation  are normally hidden from sight , but at  

the unite d’habitation none of these  normal arrangements were made so of  

course installation and maintenance was awkward  and expensive. A basic mistake was to put the  

services inside the concretestructure. Holes for  connections have to be formed in the concrete,  

and it was hard to get them in the right place • Le Corbusier wanted residents to enjoy the  

sunlight but they have to be protected from the  heat of the summer, so he invented a Sun break  

famously known as : brise soleil. This is no more  than a horizontal concrete sunshade forming part  

of the façade, and supposed to exclude the sun  in summer while allowing it to enter in winter.  

This may seem as a great idea but his object only  works on the south side of the building, the hit  

sun enters from the east and west sides of the  building in the morning and evening without any  

protection from his brise soleil. Residents were  not happy and they added some good old fashioned  

sun blinds so they don’t roast in the summer. Spatial Experience : 

When his appartment was finished he locked himself  in there, he stayed the whole day completely  

alone. In the evening he came out and just said  : ‘’ it’s okay, it will do ‘’. His wife had  

described their apartement as a dissecting lab . Unité apartments have several unique features  

compared to most living spaces. Firstly, they are  arranged linearly due to their narrow width of  

only 3.66 meters, which limits the opportunity  for movement across the apartment. However,  

occupants can traverse the apartment in a  back-and-forth manner, and the use of stairs  

could also provide a vertical experience. • The entrance is through the kitchen ( of  

cource every body loves that ) • then pass through the dining  

area before reaching the double-height  living area. The parents' sleeping area  

is located above the dining area on the upper  level, while the bathroom, shower and toilet  

area are situated across from it. The upper  level ends with two bedrooms side by side. 

• In a top-down unit, you still enter  through the kitchen and into the dining room,  

but the layout diverges from there. To reach  the double-height living area, occupants must  

descend the stairs, pass through a service area,  and then double back to access the living area. 

An to reach your appartement in the unite,  you have to walk a 75m long and low windowless  

corridor that offer a depressing visual and  spatial experience for the residents and which  

can be found in many appartement blocks today. Communal Facilities : 

To turn his high-rise apartment block into  a ‘community’ housed in a beached concrete  

ocean liner, Le Corbusier provided two  areas where thiscould come into existence  

and flourish. On levels seven and eight  therewere ‘streets’ intended to provide  

local shops for the residents, as well  ashotel rooms, cafés and restaurants.  

This idea hadn’t been properlresearched,  and was a commercial failure; had shops  

been at ground level,they might have been  more successful. Most of the commercial  

units arenow offices for architects and designers. On the roof was a kindergarten, a running track,  

a paddling pool, a gymnasium and an open-air  theatre. Although the kindergarten is closed,  

the other facilities still exist. Outro : 

I know that we should be open to innovation in  the industry but his innovation always led to  

an overpriced dysfunctional project. He thought  he was designing to meet the needs of men whose  

lives are standerdised but in reality he  was designing for no one but himself .