Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse has been severely damaged fire. The nine-story “vertical village” in Marseille, France became a historic monument in 1995 and serves as one of the most important postwar landmarks of modernist architecture.
The fire began Thursday afternoon in a first floor duplex. Firefighters fought over 12 hours to tame the blaze and were able to bring it under control earlier this morning. Many reports state at least eight to eleven homes were destroyed and twenty to thirty were damaged by smoke. All residents were evacuated late on Thursday. Thankfully, no one was critically injured and only five people were treaded in the hospital for minor injuries.
Le Corbusier built the social housing complex between 1947 and 1951. About 1,600 people live it its 334 famous duplex apartments. Some residents have resided in the complex since its inauguration. Many of the inhabitants include middle-class teachers and architects.
It remains unclear on how the fire was started.
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Reference: Le Huffington Post, The Guardian
