This very large building 254 meters long and 42 meters high houses the ministerial chambers and all ministerial agencies. The Ministries are grouped in a central pavilion, Block 4, one of the six ministerial blocks, each separated from the next by a vertical expansion joint extending the full height of the building. The exterior is of rough concrete, that is to say, the vertical brise-soleil, the parapets and the horizontal brise-soleil, the acroterium which stands out against the sky leaving visible the rooftop accommodations which are to be used for a club and for receptions. The two large ramps in front of and behind the building, serve all floors and are likewise in rough concrete. They offer a very beguiling solution of the circulation (morning and evening) for the 3.000 employees. Vertical circulation is ensured by batteries of elevators matched by a staircase running in both directions encased in a vertical spine rising from ground level to the summit of the roof. Rough concrete similarly caps the two end walls bringing out the effect of the standard sheet-metal formwork. The block of ministerial offices has been the object of very careful research in regards to the sculptural relief given to rough concrete by the effect of diverse types of brise-soleil. The rough concrete again interposes in the fenestration of the two main façades : more than 10.000 units of a unique design -one stanchion type 27x7 cm in section and 366 cm high constitute the "undulatory glazing". This concerns an application here of the Modulor which permits the stretching of a veil of glass extending the entire length and height of the building, interrupted by elements called "ventilators" which comprise a shutter of sheet-metal pivoting vertically from floor to ceiling across an opening of 43 cm and capable of being opened to any desired width, from 1 millimeter up to 43 centimeters; covered, in addition, by a curtain of copper mosquito-netting., Thus, an enormous saving of money and maintenance was realized with this fenestration, when compared with wood or metal.
The Modulor has; dictated the basic section of the office types in the building (3.66 meters of height under the transoms) permitting a harmonization of the heights of the ministerial chambers by a doubling of proportions and has given to blocks 5 and 6, which rest on pilotis at park level, a play of height of true eloquence (entrance level to the Ministers' pavilion, level of ministerial offices and the pilotis of blocks 5 and 6).
The 3.000 employees of the Secretariat arrive by bus, bicycle, or on foot, and (have different accesses depending upon whether the route which they take from the city is the “Boulevard of the Waters” or the "Valley of Leisure".
The automobile network is entrenched throughout the park of the Capitol, thus excluding vehicles from the visual field of the casual stroller in the park.
Extract from Le Corbusier, Oeuvre complète, volume 6, 1952-1957