Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Molitor building, also called building 24 N.C., was designed between 1931 and 1934 by Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret for the "Société Immobilière de Paris Parc des Princes". Located in Boulogne-Billancourt, on the limit of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, it applies four of the Five Points of Modern Architecture: free plan, punctual structure, free façade and roof terrace. The project, initially risky due to uncertain financing, was saved by the mobilization of the architects' networks to find buyers in fifteen days.

The site, which began in February 1932, experienced delays due to financial difficulties of the contractors and slow sales. Despite these obstacles, the building was completed in 1934. Since 1935, the failure of the promoter company plunged the building into a ten-year legal crisis, during which Le Corbusier had to defend his property on his duplex on the 7th and 8th floors. The latter, which he occupied until his death in 1965, became a symbol of his residential work.

Ranked Historic Monument in 1972 (for the apartment) and then in 1990 (for the facades and lobby), the building was fully protected in 2017. Since 2016 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, alongside 16 other achievements of Le Corbusier. Its revolutionary architecture, marked by glass facades made of Nevada glass brick and a curved entrance hall, breaks with 19th century traditions, as illustrated by the concentration of service spaces on the ground floor.

Le Corbusier's studio apartment, with a surface area of 240 m2, is distinguished by its movable elements (swivel doors) allowing to modulate spaces between accommodation and workshop. The upper level houses a guest bedroom and a roof garden, while the workshop, illuminated by two glass panels, offers a view of the Jean-Bouin Stadium. The 6-metre-long white vault, the apparent bellow walls and the bow-windows on the façade testify to the aesthetic and functional daring of the project.

The restoration of 1950, then that of 1962 under the supervision of Le Corbusier, did not suffice to eradicate recurring rust problems. Today, the building remains a major testimony of the modern movement, associated with the Le Corbusier Foundation, which runs its studio apartment. Its inscription in the world heritage devotes its pioneering role to the history of 20th century architecture.

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