Maison 2 rue des Arcades
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison 2 rue des Arcades, located in Pessac (Gironde), is a modern edifice built in the 19th-20th centuries. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Modern (19th-20th century)
- Location
- Pessac, Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 44.7986, -0.6485
- Mérimée Reference
- PA33000243
At the heart of Pessac, this 20th-century house, listed as a Monument Historique in 2022, embodies the modern architectural heritage of the Bordeaux metropolitan area, a quiet witness to an era of urban renewal.
History
Nestling at 2 rue des Arcades in Pessac, Gironde, this twentieth-century house is one of the most distinctive examples of the architectural heritage of the Bordeaux suburbs. Its inclusion on the Monuments Historiques list in February 2022 reflects belated but well-deserved recognition for a building that stands out from the beaten track of French classical heritage, affirming the cultural value of domestic architecture of the last century. Pessac is intimately linked to the history of modern architecture. A laboratory town par excellence, it is home to the famous Quartiers Modernes Frugès, designed by Le Corbusier in the 1920s, which have made this Gironde town a place of pilgrimage for architecture enthusiasts. Against this particularly rich backdrop, the house on rue des Arcades is part of a continuing reflection on housing, on the relationship between domestic and urban space, and on the way we live in the city in the 20th century. The choice of the street's evocative name - "des Arcades" - suggests a particular architectural relationship between the building and the public space, perhaps through the presence of covered passageways, galleries or characteristic façade elements that create a gentle transition between inside and outside. This dialogue between the building and the street is precisely what gives this house a heritage character recognised by the State. To visit this house is to grasp the ambition of an era that sought to reconcile functionality and aesthetics, simplicity and modernity. For those with a passion for everyday architecture, it offers an invaluable insight into how twentieth-century designers thought about individual housing in a rapidly changing suburban context. The setting of Pessac, between the vineyards of Bordeaux and the dynamism of today's metropolis, further enhances the interest of this off-the-beaten-track visit.
Architecture
The house at 2 rue des Arcades is typical of twentieth-century domestic architecture in the Bordeaux region, combining formal restraint with a desire for a harmonious relationship with the urban environment. Its façade, which is probably rendered or in concrete, depending on the building practices of the period, reflects the influence of the modernist currents that profoundly influenced the suburbs of Bordeaux, from Le Corbusier to the regional architects of the Trente Glorieuses period. The possible presence of arcades or porticoed elements on the façade - suggested by the name of the street - would be one of the distinctive features of this building. These architectural features, inherited from a long Mediterranean tradition and reinterpreted in the twentieth century in a modernist or regionalist language, create a transition between the public space of the street and the private domain of the dwelling. They give the façade a particular rhythm and a plastic quality that sets it apart from the ordinary surrounding buildings. The materials used, the proportions of the openings and the organisation of the interior layout probably reflect the concern for comfort and rationality that characterised domestic architecture in the first or second half of the 20th century. The roof, perhaps with traditional regional canal tiles or modernist terraces, helps to anchor the house in its geographical and cultural context in the Gironde. It is precisely this balance between local references and modernist influences that justifies the building's heritage interest.
Related Figures
Le Corbusier — architecte suisse dont l'œuvre pessacaise (Quartiers Frugès, 1924-1926) a façonné l'identité architecturale de la communeHenri Frugès — industriel bordelais et mécène qui commanda à Le Corbusier l'ensemble résidentiel de Pessac, ouvrant la voie à l'architecture moderne dans la villePierre Jeanneret — collaborateur de Le Corbusier, co-concepteur des Quartiers Modernes FrugèsInspecteurs généraux des Monuments Historiques — auteurs de la décision d'inscription du 21 février 2022 qui a consacré la valeur patrimoniale de la maisonRoselyne Bachelot — ministre de la Culture en poste lors de l'arrêté d'inscription de 2022
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison 2 rue des Arcades located?
Maison 2 rue des Arcades is located in Pessac, Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Maison 2 rue des Arcades built?
Maison 2 rue des Arcades dates back to a period built in the modern era (19th-20th century).
Is Maison 2 rue des Arcades open to visitors?
Maison 2 rue des Arcades is currently closed to visitors.