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Origin and history

The modern building of Auguste Bossu, located 11 rue des Creuses in Saint-Étienne (Loire), is an emblematic achievement of the modern architecture of the early twentieth century. Designed by architect Auguste Bossu between 1930 and 1932, it is distinguished by its reinforced concrete structure and optimized spatial organization, breaking with traditional codes. On a narrow plot of 306 m2, the seven-storey building houses 21 apartments of three to five rooms, distributed without loss of space around a central hall. The rooms are facing south for maximum sunshine, while the balconies are protected from air currents. The top floor initially included a laundry room and a solarium terrace for children, now privatized.

The building includes modern equipment for the time, such as an elevator, a garbage vacuum and central heating, to make comfort accessible to a modest audience. Auguste Bossu, founder in 1923 of the Société des Immeubles à Étages, applied scientific principles to maximize space and reduce costs, thus meeting the demand for urban housing after the First World War. The building, inaugurated in March 1932, embodies the ideals of the 1928 International Congress of Modern Architecture (CIAM), which Bossu explicitly inspired, citing even the architect Mallet-Stevens during a lecture given in the lobby. Its complex volumetricity, with corbellations and recesses, marks an aesthetic rupture with the traditional urban environment of Saint-Étienne.

Ranked as historical monuments by order of 28 March 2003 for its facades and roofs, the building was restored in the early 2000s in accordance with its original state. It is a unique testimony to the architectural and social innovation of the 1930s, combining functionality, economy of means and aesthetic ambition. His project, launched in 1929, is part of a broader approach by Bossu to democratize access to modern housing in urban areas, while exploring the possibilities offered by reinforced concrete.

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