Unité D’Habitation - by Le Corbusier The Unité d’Habitation ("Housing Union" or "Housing Unit”) by Le Corbusier is a city block within a single structure. Modeled after the wine rack concept, Le Corbusier designs identical apartment units that slot into the concrete frame. Socially, the building shelters all the aspects of a city including shops, sporting, medical, and educational facilities and a hotel to accommodate the habitants of the 337 apartment units.
Amir Azadeh, Bi-Ying Miao, Tyler Fogel and Valerie Aiken
Site Plan:
Floor Plans:
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Self Sufficient Commune, not an integrated part of the community, complete with it’s own school (now closed), shopping level, recreational facilities, nursery and hotel. In a way this contributes to sustainability, if people are able to get the things they need in the Unite, then they will not have to travel (potentially using gas and money).
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Le Corbusier picked the site because it is in the heart of the Marseilles residential district. The land is bordered by Boulevard Michelet, a main urban artery complete with side paths. The site is also able to give magnificent views of the surrounding area, in particular the sweeping vistas of the sea.
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The site itself is roughly 4 hectares gently sloping to the east. It has been described as a parkland setting, with plenty of greenery surrounding the building, much of which Le Corbusier planted. However the building is still residing in a densely populated area. The surrounding trees and large parkland setting are able to give the inhabitants a greater sense of privacy in such a busy area. However, the siting of the Unite caused a lot of controversy since it imposed on a naturally beautiful park. The site can be separated into three distinct parts, with paths in between that wrap around the structure with the aim of showcasing the building.
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The first space is to the east of the building and contains a public garden, and large forecourt, complete with sculptures
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The second space is the small sports area and a children’s playground.
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The third space is the car park surrounded by trees
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The siting of the building in a beautiful and open park area is definitely beneficial to the natural lighting and ventilation of the space, however, the choice to intrude upon a park was a bad decision in terms of sustainability (and LEED specifications)
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Site selection is poor: by putting the building in the park, Le Corbusier disrupted the existing community space and compromised the privacy of the residents.
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The fact that this building is far away from all others, provides adequate conditions for solar access and passive heating and daylighting.
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Location and Linkages with respect to the Unite are fairly good. Although the site chosen is NOT environmentally sensitive, it is close in proximity to existing water, sewage and roads.
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The site is also in a central area, surrouded by community resources and public transportation. Le Corbusier actually tried to incorporate all elements of a city into the building itself, so people wouldn’t have to leave very often.
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The housing density is very high in relation to the size of the site, which exceeds LEED standards
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Sustainable Sites: Although the use of pilotis minimizes the distrubance of the site, the overuse of turf greatly decreases the building’s LEED rating in this category.
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The LEED rating could be greatly improved if Le Corbusier decided to replace grass with a more hearty ground covering and to replace asphalt with a more permeable material.
Site Shading: 8am
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Orientation of Units
Since the north side would not get any direct sun exposure, the 2 opposite apartment faces of the Unité naturally face east and west. This way, every apartment in the building gets the same number of sunlit hours throughout the day.
Five larger units of the Unité face the south side. These apartments get the most amount of natural light, and therefore is Mediterranean in lighting condition.
The problem here is that each unit will get very direct sunlight in the morning and afternoon, and nearly no light in mid-day. This doesn’t allow for a lot of natural daylighting.
West Elevation
South Elevation
East Elevation
North Elevation
Morning Light
Afternoon Light
Contrast in Lighting Conditions
As a result of the central interior streets that occur every third level and the slotted apartment units on either side, it is possible to allow the unit facades to face two opposing orientations.
However, even though the apartment units get adequate lighting, the arrangement of units around the corridor makes for a poorly lit central “interior street”.
To compensate, the corridors are heavily dependant on artificial lighting.
Shading Systems “Brise-Soleil” (Breaks the sun) Sun protection Balconies –
At each façade, Corb designs a balcony that separates the interior space from direct morning and afternoon light on the east and west side.
Concrete loggias –
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The apartment facades are recessed behind concrete loggias forming a space that is the balcony. The overhanging loggias block high angled summer light while letting in low angled winter rays
Horizontal concrete slabs –
For the double-height balconies, horizontal concrete slabs allow for extra sun protection
Shading Systems
Vertical shading – – –
Vertical concrete shading devices run along the west façade of the Unité on the communal services floor. These help to shade the sunlight as the sun moves from the east side. Vertical shading is also used on the rooftop gymnasium
Shading Systems
Patterned walls –
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Decorative patterns in walls also lend to sun protection as well as create aesthetic appeal. These patterned walls diffuse the harsh lighting conditions on the east and west facades, and increase the overall quality of the interior environment.
Seasonal Daylighting Effects During the summer time, direct light is blocked out by the loggias and the horizontal shading devices on the balcony. The horizontal slabs also act as a light shelves, reflecting diffused light into the interior environment. In the winter time, more light is able to penetrate the façade. This allows for natural heating and maximum exposure to sunlight.
Possible Redesign •
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Le Corbusier orients the Unité d’Habitation so that each unit has both an east and west facing facade. He chooses to place apartment units on the southern façade as well to take advantage of the different light quality for a different type of interior space. These decisions allow him to maintain even natural lighting throughout the units on the building.
East
If the building was rotated 90 degrees, so that the long façades were facing north and south, only half of the units would be exposed to natural light while the north side would be plagued with darkness. Although, redesign of the scheme by placing the interior street along the north side, and reducing the number of units and have them face the south side would solve the problem of a poorly lit corridor. However, this would significantly decrease the number of units in the building. Seeing that Corbusier designed the Unité d’Habitation to act as a city community, this strategy would not be appropriate.
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West
Therefore, as a service to the architects vision for the building, the natural lighting system is effective for apartment living.
South
Ventilation Original Ventilation: Plan •
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Le Corbusier neglected to take advantage of the possibilities of cross ventilation in each unit. By making the centre of the floor area very dense, the natural air coming in from the East and West wall of the unit was restricted to only a small area and was given no means to penetrate into the central areas of the space. This meant the areas near the East and West walls received some ventilation, but areas in the middle had nothing but stagnant air. The hall specifically receives no means of natural ventilation. This ventilation problem would greatly decrease the quality of the interior environment.
Ventilation
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This image shows us the problem created by not providing an outlet for incoming ventilation.
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The air doesn’t have the chance to penetrate deep into the space since it is forced to turn around and leave the same way it entered.
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This is evidently the problem Le Corbusier encounters in the Unite D’Habitation.
Ventilation Original Ventilation: Section •
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Similar to the plan view, we can see that no natural ventilation can reach the central core of the unit. The air entering receives no other option as an outlet, so must turn back and leave the same way it entered. One major problem that we see in section, is the accumulation of heat and stagnant air above the double height area. Since the window above this area is inoperable, the air is trapped in the dining and kitchen area. The quality of the living space is greatly compromised by Le Corbusier’s negligence in employing the stack effect.
Ventilation Revamped Ventilation: Plan •
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To solve Le Corbusier’s ventilation problem in plan, we have proposed to open up the floor plan and replace the necessary dividing walls with baffled privacy screens instead. This allows for cross ventilation in the space. Now, the air can travel through the building and penetrate into the core areas of the space. Now, rather than the air having to turn back on itself, leaving stagnant air in the rest of the building, the air is sucked through the building and will provide cooling and ventilation to the entire space. This minor change will tremendously increase the quality of the interior environment of this building. Now, tenants will be cool and will have fresh air. They can also have control over their environment by opening and closing windows.
Ventilation Revamped Ventilation: Section •
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To further increase the quality of the interior space of each unit, we have also proposed to the design in section. By simply creating a window at the top of the double height space, which can be operated from below, the stack effect is employed. Air traveling through the space will push hot air up into the second level, and the operable window will allow that air to escape. It may be wise to employ heat sensitive triggers which open the windows automatically when the air in the upper floor gets too warm. The only problem which remains, is the hallway. You could employ cross ventilation by putting windows in either end of the hall, but at this large of a scale, it may need to depend on mechanized ventilation. By allowing the heat and stagnant air on the upper floor to escape, a simple operable window causes a dramatic increase in the quality of the interior space. Now, tenants will not suffocate on the second floor and can control the amount of natural ventilation they receive through operable windows.
References: •
Yoshizaka, Takamasa. Unite D’Habitation, Marseille, France, 1947-52. Tokyo : A.D.A. Edita Tokyo, 1972
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Le Corbusier, Carpenter Center, unité d’habitation, Firminy, and other buildings and projects, 1961-1963. New York : Garland Pub. ; Paris : Fondation Le Corbusier, 1984.
Images •
http://www.pushpullbar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1367&page=12
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http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:BB4csNu2E_IJ:www.bwk.tue.nl/architectuur/dmw/group4/le%2520corbusier%25 20unite.htm+unite+d%27habitation+lighting&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&client=safari
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www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/ajb2/workbody.html
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Yoshizaka, Takamasa. Unite D’Habitation, Marseille, France, 1947-52. Tokyo : A.D.A. Edita Tokyo, 1972
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Le Corbusier, Carpenter Center, unité d’habitation, Firminy, and other buildings and projects, 1961-1963. New York : Garland Pub. ; Paris : Fondation Le Corbusier, 1984.
