Unité d'Habitation de Marseille, Modernist residential building in Marseille, France
The Unité d'Habitation de Marseille is a concrete residential building in Sainte-Anne in Marseille, rising on heavy pillars and housing several hundred apartments. The facade shows large colored windows and balconies, while inside corridors connect the individual floors.
Le Corbusier designed this residential block after World War II to give many families a home in a time of great need. Work began in 1947 and ended in 1952, testing new methods for building social housing.
The name comes from the French term for housing unit and reflects the idea that people can live, work and spend their free time under one roof. Today architecture enthusiasts and visitors come here to experience the communal spaces and the open rooftop, where residents gather.
Visitors can explore parts of the building, including the rooftop, where open areas and views over the city unfold. Some areas remain reserved for residents, so it is advisable to check access beforehand.
Each apartment extends across the full width of the structure and thus receives daylight from both sides, which is rare in high-rise buildings. The units were inserted like bottles into a rack, with the concrete skeleton standing independent of the walls.
Location: Sainte-Anne
Architects: Le Corbusier
Architectural style: brutalist architecture
Floors above the ground: 18
Part of: The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier
Address: 280 Bd Michelet, 13008 Marseille, France
Website: https://marseille-tourisme.com/fr/decouvrir-marseille/les-incontournables/la-cite-radieuse
GPS coordinates: 43.26140,5.39639
Latest update: December 4, 2025 23:00
The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region depicts a land where architecture narrates a thousand years of history between sea and mountains. From the 12th-century Cistercian abbeys to the brutalist experiments of Le Corbusier, this area features an exceptional built heritage shaped by Mediterranean light. You can find fortresses perched on rocky promontories, Romanesque monasteries where Van Gogh depicted his struggles, and contemporary museums that interact with the blue of the Mediterranean. Vineyards contain large-scale sculptures, the perched villages of Luberon display their medieval architecture in light stone, and Belle Époque villas in Cap d'Antibes mark the golden age of the Riviera. Between the limestone cliffs of the Calanques and the alpine valleys carved with prehistoric signs, Provençal architecture follows the contours of the land, capturing shadow and warmth, blending tradition and modernity. From the port of Marseille to the hanging gardens of Èze, each building bears the mark of a region where Cistercian builders, military engineers, visionary artists, and contemporary architects have inscribed their visions in stone, concrete, and landscape.
Brutalist architecture emerged in the decades following World War II, producing buildings that challenged conventional design through their honest expression of materials and function. From Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation in Marseille to Louis Kahn's National Assembly in Dhaka, these structures define a global movement that prioritized raw concrete, bold geometric forms and exposed construction elements. The style reached across continents, shaping university libraries in Chicago, government buildings in Boston and Chandigarh, residential towers in London, and cultural centers in São Paulo. Each building reflects the architectural philosophy of its time, when architects sought to create functional spaces through direct expression of structure and material. This collection documents examples from Europe, Asia, North and South America, representing the full range of building types that defined the movement. You'll find administrative complexes that house parliaments and municipal offices, educational facilities serving major universities, residential towers providing urban housing, and cultural institutions including museums and theaters. The structures share common characteristics—concrete left exposed to show its texture and formwork patterns, geometric compositions that emphasize mass and volume, and architectural elements that reveal rather than conceal how buildings stand and function. These sites offer insight into a period when architects reimagined how modern cities could be built and how public spaces could serve their communities.
The route connects Notre-Dame de la Garde Basilica, the old port and Calanques National Park with historical buildings. The locations display the maritime history, urban architecture and coastal landscape of Marseille.
This selection presents notable photography locations across Marseille, from the Vallon des Auffes fishing port to the Byzantine architecture of La Major Cathedral. The route includes historic structures like Fort Saint-Jean, natural sites such as Calanque de Morgiou, and architectural landmarks including the Palais Longchamp and Le Corbusier's Cité Radieuse.
A selection of the most popular terrace and rooftop bars in Marseille, offering panoramic views over the city and the Mediterranean. These venues allow visitors to enjoy the Mediterranean climate while savoring cocktails and refreshments from above.
Stade Vélodrome
881 m
Parc Borély
1.3 km
Statue of David
1.8 km
Plages du Prado
2 km
Château Borély
1.3 km
Le Grand Pavois
1.4 km
Parc du 26e Centenaire
2.1 km
Palais des sports de Marseille
1.1 km
Musée des Arts décoratifs, de la Faïence et de la Mode
1.3 km
Parc Charles Aznavour
1.8 km
Museum of Contemporary Art, Marseille
1.3 km
Mosquée de l'arsenal des galères
1.6 km
Jardin botanique E.M. Heckel
964 m
Jardin de la Magalone
164 m
Cathédrale des Saints-Traducteurs de Marseille
1.2 km
Maison Blanche
1.6 km
Église Saint Roch
1.8 km
American Park
1.2 km
Marseille Genocide Memorial
1.2 km
Château Borély - Musée des arts décoratifs, de la faïence et de la mode de la Ville de Marseille
1.3 km
Viaduc de Sainte-Marguerite
1 km
Immeuble, 55 boulevard Rodocanachi
1.7 km
Jean Bouin
899 m
MAMO Marseille Modulor
36 m
Église Notre-Dame du Rouet
1.6 km
Falaises de Luminy
2 km
Mickey Boy
1.1 km
Église Sainte-Émilie-de-Vialar de Sainte-Marguerite
1.7 kmReviews
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