The vertical village, the second housing unit
From order to completion
On July 23, 1949, Le Corbusier was commissioned by the Maison familiale (a private low-cost housing cooperative) to build a block of flats along the same lines as those in Marseille. The building was to be constructed in Rezé, near Nantes, to Habitations bon marché (HBM) standards.
The final project, drawn up in 1951, called for 294 housing units in a building conceived as a “vertical village” mounted on stilts and surrounded by a 9-hectare park. The apartments are isolated from each other and built as independent cells in pre-stressed concrete. The apartments are duplexes with a double east-west orientation (except for those on the third floor, which are not through-planning).
La Maison Radieuse de Rezé, like Marseille’s Cité Radieuse, offers its residents modern living comforts (apartment facilities, roof terrace with nursery school, rooms for associations, etc.).
L'inauguration de la Maison Radieuse a eu lieu il y a 70 ans !
La Maison Radieuse de Rezé was inaugurated on July 2, 1955 in the presence of Le Corbusier. 70 years later, the building is still inhabited and the school is still in operation!
Since 1954, the Association des Habitants de la Maison radieuse (AHMR) has made a major contribution to the development of Le Corbusier’s second housing unit. The association organizes numerous events and brings the building to life. A rich program is planned to celebrate this milestone anniversary.
