The block is a corollary of Le Corbusier’s The path from Saint-Dié (which is simply Five Points of Architecture: the pilotis, or a smaller Unit) to the Housing Units is evi- reinforced concrete stilts,that bear the dent. The Marseilles proect, which can bej structuralload; the toit-jardin (roof gar- seen as a prototype,would be followed by den) with facilities for the community, with those of Briey-en-Forêt, Meaux and Berlin the ingenious trick of reusing the earth (all in 1957), andFirminy, now in1962.I have removed for the construction process, as visited them all (some sever la times) adn well as providing views; and the horizontal it is truethat the Marseilles building is the ribbon windows, covered by their respec- Unité par excellence, the prototype from tive sun shades. A cross-section explains which all of them stem. The first time I went, better than any document the concept towards the end of 1989, I was there to sit on of the building, placing the accesses on the doctoral thesis tribunal at the School each of the three floors, reducing the of Architecture in my capacity as a per- communal spaces by one-third. Of course sonnalité compétente (that person who, there is a good duplex (bedroom above whether competent or not, comes from the lounge), and a bad one (the other way outside with a fresh viewpoint to take part around).The price that has to be paid? in a corrective session) and I took advan- The endless corridor, with so many doors tage of the trip to visit Les Calanques, the that it feels a little frightening, becauseOld Port (as yet without the magnificent you don’t know which one the monster is museum by Rudy Ricciotti), try the bouilla- going to jump out of. The block, in formal baisse with its rouille, and pay a visit to Aix- terms, is finished off by turning the gap aten-Provence. I remember that I ‘stole’ a theend towards the south, allowing five photo of a woman sunbathing topless on duplex apartments to be positioned, like the rooftop, wanting to see in her curves therest (imagine todaythe problems they the same curves with which Le Corbusier would have passing theaccessibility regu- finished off the chimneys and objects on lations). The roof is givenover to communi- that same roof (I look at the photo now ty facilities, a nursery, a school and a playand it does not have the slightest interest). area for the youngest, apart from which the roof is the perfect place for develop- ing that dreamlike world that Le Corbusier had already begun on the Beistegui pent- house apartment in Paris. The height of the parapets controls the horizon and allows a Debajo / Below:Imagen de algunos de los cuerpos cons- truidosen una clara voluntad escultórica que ya se ini- ciara con cuanto hiciera en el ático Beistegui / Image view of the sea, on the one side, and the of some of the constructed volumes, with an obvious sculpturalpropensity, which he had already embarked mountains on the other. on with the Beistegui penthouse. t27118