Marseilles - Unité d'Habitation (Cité Radieuse)

About 1.3km/1mi south of the Rond-Point, on the right side of the Boulevard Michelet, extends the Unité d'Habitation, also called the Cité Radieuse, a residential complex in the Marseilles area designed by Le Corbusier and intended to "show the way ahead". The huge rectangular construction, 165m/180yds long and 56m/184ft high, comprises on eight double storys 337 flats of 23 different types. There are communal rooms, shops (also the "Le Corbusier" hotel), a kindergarten, a theater etc., and on some floors "rues intérieures" complete the internal facilities. The "House", which is supported by 17 pairs of concrete stilts - these also contain the supply services - represents a whole town for some 1,600 inhabitants. The basic idea behind this construction was to provide accommodation for many people in the smallest possible area and to leave room for green open spaces. Le Corbusier has nevertheless sought to realize harmonious proportions and forms. Today this experiment is criticized for not permitting the spontaneity and individuality of modern city life.