Maison de type Quinconce
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison de type Quinconce, 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
- Mérimée Reference
- PA33000143
Jewel of the modernist movement in Pessac, this Quinconce-type house designed by Le Corbusier embodies the revolution of standardised housing: clean volumes, roof terraces and bold colours at the heart of the Cité Frugès.
History
In the heart of Pessac, on the outskirts of Bordeaux, the Quinconce house is part of one of the most daring architectural adventures of the 20th century: the Cité Frugès, a full-scale laboratory for Corbusé's ideas. Commissioned in 1924 by the visionary industrialist Henri Frugès, this working-class housing estate is one of the most precious testimonies to the Modern Movement in France, and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016 as part of Le Corbusier's oeuvre. The Quinconce type owes its name to the staggered layout of its units, staggered in relation to each other to optimise the sunlight and natural ventilation of each dwelling. This interplay of interlocking volumes, characteristic of Le Corbusier's organisational genius, creates an urban rhythm that was totally unprecedented at the time, breaking radically with the codes of the traditional working-class house. Each building plays on full and empty spaces, recesses and projections, creating a lively façade despite the repetition of the module. The experience of visiting this site is particularly striking for any architecture enthusiast. Walking through the streets of the Cité Frugès is like walking through a built utopia, that of an architect convinced that beauty could be popular and that the industrialisation of housing was not incompatible with quality of life. The flat roofs, banded windows and colourful facades - ochre, blue, green and burgundy - form a chromatic palette that immediately sets this district apart from the rest of the city. Now inhabited, the houses on the estate have survived the decades with varying fortunes, some having been extensively altered by their occupants, others carefully restored to their original state. This cohabitation between architectural heritage and everyday life gives the whole complex a rare authenticity, far removed from the cold museum-like atmosphere. Photography enthusiasts will find the south-western light particularly generous, sublimating the pure lines and flat colours.
Architecture
The architecture of the Quinconce house illustrates with exemplary clarity the five points of the new architecture theorised by Le Corbusier: piles freeing the ground floor from the ground, a roof terrace transformed into a living space, a free plan made possible by the reinforced concrete structure, entablature windows providing uniform lighting, and a free façade devoid of any load-bearing function. Here, the implementation of these principles is subject to the economic constraints of a social housing programme, which gives the result a rigorous, almost ascetic sobriety, far removed from contemporary bourgeois villas. The principle of the quincunx is based on the staggering of a half-frame between two rows of semi-detached houses, creating an alternation of recesses and projections on the façade. Each unit has a cubic volume with sharp edges, covered with a smooth rendering originally tinted in the mass according to a precise chromatic palette: Le Corbusier and Jeanneret had carefully studied the colour combinations to visually differentiate the types and enliven the urban space without resorting to ornamentation. The openings, in horizontal bands, reinforce the horizontality of the composition and signify the building's industrial modernity. The reinforced concrete load-bearing structure allows the interior space to be organised with unprecedented freedom from the constraints of traditional load-bearing walls. The compact yet rationally organised flats feature built-in storage and optimised circulation systems that reflect the principles of domestic ergonomics. The interior surfaces, rendered in white or warm tones, catch the south-westerly light and create a luminous atmosphere characteristic of Corbuséan architecture.
Related Figures
Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris) — architecte concepteur de la Cité FrugèsPierre Jeanneret — architecte co-concepteur, cousin et collaborateur de Le CorbusierHenri Frugès — industriel bordelais et commanditaire visionnaire de la citéPhilippe Boudon — architecte et chercheur, auteur de l'étude fondatrice Pessac de Le Corbusier (1967)Amédée Ozenfant — cofondateur du mouvement puriste avec Le Corbusier, influençant l'esthétique de la cité
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison de type Quinconce located?
Maison de type Quinconce is located in Pessac, Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Maison de type Quinconce built?
Maison de type Quinconce dates back to a period built in the modern era (19th-20th century).
Is Maison de type Quinconce open to visitors?
Maison de type Quinconce is currently closed to visitors.