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Origin and history

La Cité radieuse de Rezé, also known as Maison radieuse or Maison familiale, is a collective residence designed by Le Corbusier between 1953 and 1955. Sponsored by the HLM cooperative The Family House is part of the post-war reconstruction in Nantes, marked by a housing crisis. Unlike the Marseille unit (1952), this project explicitly targets a modest audience, with social housing and cooperative management. The building, smaller than Marseille, applies the principles of Modulor and the vertical village, but without a shopping street for budgetary reasons.

The project was born in 1950 after tensions between Gabriel Chéreau (Vice-President of the cooperative) and Michel Roux-Spitz, chief architect of the reconstruction of Nantes. Chereau asks The Corbusier to adapt its housing unit concept to an HLM frame. Despite financial difficulties and strict standards, work began in 1953 on a small plot of 2.5 hectares, a former park of a bourgeois residence. The inauguration took place in July 1955, with an innovative system of cooperative leasing, where the inhabitants became shareholders.

As early as 1955, residents enjoyed a hybrid model between rental and property, but the Chalandon Act (1971) imposed a definitive choice. Only 10% opt for purchase, leading to late co-ownership (1976) and massive departures. The 1980-1990s saw a major rehabilitation of the concrete facades, which were initially poorly constructed to reduce costs. Ranked a historic monument in 2001, the Radious City now houses 585 inhabitants, with 55% social housing and an active association since 1955.

Architecturally, the 52-metre-high and 108-metre-long building stands out for its interior streets, modular duplexes, and roof-terrace kindergarten. The Corbusier includes a bridge overlooking a water room, highlighting the link with the six-hectare wooded park. Unlike Marseille, the smaller apartments are intended for a working and harbour population. The collective spaces (post office until 2003) and the absence of shops reflect the initial desire for a purely residential and social housing.

Site management evolves with land acquisitions by co-operators (1970s) to preserve the green environment, essential to Le Corbusier's vision. In 2025, the City celebrates its 70th anniversary with exhibitions, such as the Radious childhood, celebrating its heritage. Despite threats of closure for the school and challenges of condominium, the building remains a symbol of social modernism, partially visitable (terrace, hall, witness apartment).

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