Architecture de Collection settles in at Le Corbusier’s !

Few buildings in France seem to be so much in tune with the Architecture de Collection approach: a major architectural work of the 20th century, classified as a Historic Monument and on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Unité d’Habitation de Marseille also houses a community committed to the cultural enhancement of the site and its preservation over time.

The aim of our new space in the Cité Radieuse is to continue and expand our activities aimed at local residents: selling flats to a clientele driven by a desire to preserve the site, and organising cultural events to bring people together.

The 418 is both an anchor point and a showcase for our project: a workspace for our agents in the South, a reception area to welcome our customers and partners, and a place for day-to-day exchanges with ‘passing’ architecture enthusiasts who come from all over the world to visit this remarkable site.

Located on the 4th street – one of the two shopping streets in the Unité d’Habitation – 418 enjoys a prime location. Its walk-through volume is bathed in light thanks to its glazed windows overlooking the mini-market (on the 4th Street side) and the winter garden (on the 3rd Street side). Minimalist and elegant, the design makes the most of the qualities of this light-filled space, as if suspended within this vertical village.

The interior design of Cellule 418 was conceived in dialogue with our partner Maison Mirbel, located just a stone’s throw away at 403, 4th Street.

Our friendship with the photographer Manuel Bougot, author of numerous photographs and books on modern architecture, is also being showcased: the photographic print of the Villa Seynave (a famous villa designed by Jean Prouvé, recently sold by our agency) produced for the occasion is at the heart of our reflection on the transmission of 20th-century masterpieces.

We are also exhibiting two fine art prints made available by our partner, the Desplans gallery, which specialises in architectural publications: the drawing of the façade of the iconic building on rue Franklin, designed by Auguste Perret in 1903, and ‘Sky villa’, a collage produced by the Italian agency WAR.

‘Cellule 418’ is also the name of a new section of our web magazine, which will not only promote our activities in Marseille and the Provence & Côte d’Azur region, but will also relay news from our commercial partners in the Unité d’Habitation (galleries, art centres, bookshops, hotels, restaurants, etc.), who are all federated by the desire for architecture.