The original commission concerned a program of 12 individual houses on a long plot, intended to house the executives of the former neighboring EDF industrial site. The Atelier de Montrouge proposed a reinterpretation of the suburban house model in the form of a modular and innovative urban individual housing, consisting of 5- and 6-room duplexes with terraces.

The architects designed two square-plan towers, whose volumes spiral around a central core housing the elevator and staircase. To create private, non-overlapping spaces for each family, each floor undergoes two distinct movements: a setback of the façade and a quarter-turn rotation. The towers are conceived as standalone objects, isolated in space and without a principal façade, embodying the principles of the Modern Movement, particularly the free plan and free façade, allowing for great flexibility of use.

The two towers are executed with high-quality craftsmanship, using noble materials left in their raw state, such as steel, glass, wood, and especially light-colored concrete that retains the imprint of its wooden formwork.

These buildings provide a valuable testimony to the renewal of French architecture in the 1960s: they incorporate the theoretical and construction innovations of the time and sit at the crossroads of architectural sculpture, Brutalism, and social urbanism inspired by the Team X movement.

The Atelier de Montrouge was founded in 1958 by architects Pierre Riboulet, Gérard Thurnauer, Jean-Louis Véret, and Jean Renaudie. All of them had worked alongside leading figures of the Modern Movement and the CIAM, such as Le Corbusier and Jean Prouvé. They represent a new generation of architects rethinking modernity by integrating a political and social dimension into their approach to housing, while taking into account the history of the site and the spirit of the time.

Through projects ranging from individual housing to urban-scale developments, they offered a comprehensive reflection on urban renewal, sustainable planning, environmental protection, and housing innovation. Intellectual and committed, they took a stand against large-scale housing projects and mass-produced dwellings, establishing an alternative practice based on the social and built context of each project.

Jean Renaudie left the Atelier in 1968 following the events of May ’68 and differences of opinion. The Atelier remained active until 1981, the year it was awarded the Grand Prix National d’Architecture for its innovative projects and significant theoretical contributions.

Among the Atelier de Montrouge’s major works are the “La Joie par les Livres” library in Clamart (1963–1965), the EDF residential towers in Ivry-sur-Seine (1963–1967), the Le Merlier village in Cap Camarat (1959–1965), the “Les Heures Claires” educational and cultural center in Istres (1970–1977), and the EDF training center in Les Mureaux (1972–1980).

Paul Chemetov (1928–2024) graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in 1959, after working in the studios of André Lurçat, Pierre Vivien, and Guillaume Gillet. He joined Jacques Allégret’s AUA in 1961 and founded the C+H+ studio with Borja Huidobro in 1998. His career was recognized with the Grand Prix National de l’Architecture in 1980, and he was appointed co-chair of the Scientific Committee for Grand Paris in 2009. He also oversaw the development sector of the National Architecture Strategy (SNA).