Le Corbusier: Unité d'habitation, Typ Berlin (Construction and Context)

Built between 1957 and 1958, Le Corbusier’s Unité d’habitation in Berlin stands as an exceptional work of postwar architecture in Berlin. Although it follows the basic concept of a “vertical village” as envisioned by the architect, the gigantic block, containing 530 apartments, clearly differs from the Marseille original. However, as a result of modifications required by the client, the construction occupies the position of an outsider in Le Corbusier’s oeuvre. Authors from the fields of architecture, urbanism, art history and cultural studies precisely set out the genesis of the listed building for the first time. In addition, they investigate the development of the Unité d’habitation model, and the Berlin variant’s unique color concept, and carry out a comparison with the four typologically related buildings in France. In looking at the significance, ingenuity and creative impact of Le Corbusier’s unique creation in Berlin, the so-called Corbusierhaus, the publication fills a gap in the literature on postwar modernism and the architect’s body of work.