La Cité Beisson in Aix-en-Provence
Louis Olmeta, 1959-1961 Historical and documentary study
- Presentation of the study, objectives, methods and plan
The Cité Beisson was built in Aix-en-Provence, between 1959 and 1961, by the architect Louis Olmeta associated on this program to Jean-Marie Sourdeau, architect of operation.
It was one of the first large social housing projects built in the city after the Second World War and now has 1,241 inhabitants.
At the local level, it is an essential marker for understanding the urban evolution and architectural renewal that took place in Aix in the 1950s and 1960s.
On a national scale, it is a formidable witness to the innovative post-war architecture whose heritage qualities have been recognized by its designation as a 20th century heritage[1], in November 2006. Classified as a Sensitive Urban Area (ZUS) since 1996, an urban renewal project was implemented in 2010[2]. It includes the construction of a media library, the development of a sports field (completed) and the demolition and reconstruction of a housing building, replaced by a mixed program building: housing and commercial activities (the limited project management competition for this operation has just been opened in September 2011).
This project falls outside the scope of the National Urban Renewal Programme (PNRU), also the National Urban Renewal Agency[3] (ANRU) is only marginally involved in financing the operation. The bulk is provided by landlords (13 Habitat and Pays d'Aix Habitat) to the tune of 42%, the rest is broken down between the State and the local authorities, with the City and the Communauté du Pays d'Aix in mind[4].
In this context of change and renovation, it seemed wise to the Aixoise municipality and the DRAC PACA, to broaden the field of knowledge about this city by commissioning a historical and documentary study that will allow to go back on the origins of the construction and to carry out a thorough architectural analysis.
The objective is to establish a knowledge base and to highlight the heritage qualities, in order to support the rehabilitation project underway.
This study is also an opportunity to engage with the population of Aix, the inhabitants of the city and the various actors in charge of its rehabilitation, an educational work in the form of conferences.
It is funded in equal parts by the City of Aix-en-Provence (the Museums and Cultural Heritage Directorate leads the project) and the DRAC PACA (Architecture and Protected Spaces Service), was entrusted to Claudine Bron, art historian, in May 2011.
The study is based on a methodology based on the analysis of buildings in situ faced with the different stages of the project preserved in the Departmental Archives of the Bouches-du-Rhône, centre of Marseille, in the fonds of OPAC-Sud, now 13 Habitat. This collection constitutes all the technical documentation of the study because despite the research carried out by the Urban Planning Service and the Municipal Archives of the city, the building permit of the operation remains untraceable to date. However, there are gaps in the plans and elevations for the completed project.
The old iconography comes mainly from a collection of photographs from different campaigns of aerial missions carried out by the IGN on the chronological slice 1934-1974 and a sociological and urban study carried out in 1965 by Christiane Faudry on the Beisson and Corsy cities (see archival sources).
This documentation has been enriched by the consultation of general and specific works as well as by the analysis of the main reviews of regional and national architectures.
The report is formalized by two folders: one containing the text, the other bringing together the technical and iconographic documentation. Technical documentation (plans, specifications, correspondence, etc.) and current iconography have been selected because of their importance. The documents reproduced are those that are essential to the understanding of the study.
All written, graphic and iconographic pieces collated by the research work will be paid to the sponsors in digital form.
The study is divided into three parts: :
- The first presents in a synthetic way the historical, political, economic and social circumstances related to the construction of large projects on a national scale and then to the construction of the City Beisson on a city and neighbourhood scale.
- The second studies the programme through an analysis of the principles of implementation and urban inscription of volumes. The design of undeveloped spaces is particularly studied.
- The third deals with the composition of the facades and highlights the qualities of housing cells.
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[1] Established in 1999 by the Ministry of Culture and Communication, the Heritage of the 20th Century label (circular of 1 March 2001) is intended to promote the remarkable productions of this century in terms of architecture and urban planning. Without any legal or financial impact, this label is awarded by the regional prefect, after examination by the regional heritage and sites commission, and materialized by a nameplate (Patrick Rubin, Canal Agency). It also benefits the buildings of the twentieth century protected as historical monuments, and the representative ensembles of the twentieth century creations located in area of protection of architectural, urban and landscape heritage (ZPPAUP).
Today, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region has about 300 certified buildings, from the villa to large complexes, including a hundred historical monuments.
[2] Urban Renewal Agreement approved by City Council on July 16, 2010.
[3] Created by the City Policy and Programming Act and the 1e In August 2003, ANRU’s mission is to contribute to the PNRU in the ZUS in order to achieve social diversity and sustainable development.
[4] See the article on this subject "13 Habitat launches a demolition-reconstruction operation in the city of Beisson" by A. Wauquiez, published on 16 November 2011 in TPBM magazine no. 895.
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