Vintage 1945 Le Corbusier Marseille

Arguably Le Corbusier’s most important late work — and certainly his first significant postwar structure — is the Cité Radieuse (“Radiant City”), an Unité d’Habitation (“Housing Unit”) in Marseille, France. Although it was conceptualized earlier, the Marseille building was built from rough-cast reinforced concrete (steel and concrete) — a signature Le Corbusier material — between 1947 and 1952 to help alleviate a severe housing shortage at that time. The colossal 12-story complex accommodates some 1,600 residents and was the inspiration for several similar Unités d’Habitation throughout France, as well as in Berlin — all designed by Le Corbusier and given the same utilitarian name. The Unité d’Habitation was a prime example of the Modulor philosophy — and the design and proportions of the Marseille watch dial are an homage to the Modulor anthropometric scale. 

 

Concrete Dial 

We end, appropriately, where we began: with careful attention to raw materials — in this instance, concrete — that become stirring works of art. For this last component of the Le Corbusier Trilogy, Girard-Perregaux developed a concrete dial requiring three days to pour, dry and meticulously hand-finish. Concrete is an exceptionally uncommon material in watchmaking now, as it was in construction when Le Corbusier used it to build Cité Radieuse. The result is an unparalleled interpretation of Le Corbusier: a seamless blend of watchmaking and architecture.