Aix-en-Provence - Residence The 200 accommodations
- department: Bouches-du-Rhône
- town: Aix-en-Provence
- naming: Residence The 200 dwellings
- address : avenue Jean Moulin
- author: Fernand POUILLON (architect)
- date: 1951-1955
- protection: unprotected building
- label patrimoine XXe: Commission régionale du patrimoine et des sites (CRPS) of 28 November 2000
The 200 housing units were built from 1951 to 1953, in a context of scarcity of housing, marking the period of Reconstruction. This situation of restriction was the consequence of the destruction perpetrated during the Second World War as well as the new needs, brought about by the displacements of the population it had caused. The post-war period was marked by an acceleration of migration flows, particularly from the countryside to the city. This explains the many projects of "large ensembles" dating from the Thirty Glorious (1945-1975). It was a matter of building quickly, in large numbers and at a lower cost.
The operation of 200 housing units is in this context with the stated objective of building "200 housing units, in 200 days for 200 million". Its originality lies in the fact that this project sought to draw inspiration from the urban proportions of Aix-en-Provence and from traditional local constructions while exploiting modern techniques. It was at this site that for the first time a system of construction was developed, combining load-bearing facade walls, of ashlar, and also load-bearing interior partitions, of special bricks, laid vertically.
The Ministry of Reconstruction and the city of Aix-en-Provence jointly sponsored the operation of the 200 housing units, not with a view to real estate development, but with a view to providing a concrete response to the housing needs of the community. As a result, a 25-year lease-sale formula was proposed to the inhabitants without prior contribution. One of the objectives was to enable a large middle class of the population to gain access to property.
Fernand Pouillon (1912-1986), designer of the 200 houses, and at the time associated with René Egger, is one of the outstanding figures of 20th century architecture, best known for its constructions in Provence, Algeria and the Paris region. He notably participated in the reconstruction of the Old Port of Marseille with the Quai du Port buildings and the Tourette housing complex. Its links with the city of Aix were also numerous. One of its major concerns, linked in particular to the realization of housing in number, is the rationalization of yards. Modernity is not synonymous, according to him, with raw concrete and clean forms. On the contrary, it must make it possible to improve construction methods to make them more efficient. This is how he uses stone and other traditional materials as well as reinforced concrete. This original position placed him on the margins of the great modernist currents, but allowed him to re-read his work in the light of the postmodern experiences of the late twentieth century.
The 200 houses are in the form of 5 groups of buildings, distributed on both sides of the Alpine road at the exit of Aix-en-Provence. They consist of buildings of square or rectangular plan, isolated or grouped. Traditional tile covers extend slightly to form a comb pattern. Each building is surrounded, on the ground, by a calibrated gutter (pebble soil), ensuring the evacuation of rainwater. A rich, varied and careful decoration is to be noticed on all the buildings: ceramics of Philippe Sourdive in each entrance hall and on the top of the buildings with a square plan, turned wooden carpentry of the cabinetmaker Richard Gabarro, made each time with different patterns. Great attention is also paid to outdoor collective spaces, organized around four plots. Four fountains are its central points. The reason for the naiad is due to the sculptor Louis Arnaud; the obelisk fountain to Jean Amado, regular collaborators of Fernand Pouillon. The trough may have been installed in memory of the old transhumance route. Around the 200 dwellings, other buildings built later on testify to the influence of Fernand Pouillon on the architects of the region.
- Editor: Jean-Roch Bouiller, drac paca crmh, 2000
- Source: Axelle Le Fur and Agnès Fuzibet, architects, Les 200 logements, drac paca crmh, 1999
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