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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The building located at 25 avenue de Versailles in the 16th arrondissement of Paris is a major achievement of the modern movement in architecture. Built between 1930 and 1931, it marks the first work by Jean Ginsberg, a Polish architect trained with figures such as Rob Mallet-Stevens, Le Corbusier and André Lurçat. This project, carried out in collaboration with Bertold Lubetkin, is part of an innovative approach for the era, combining functionalism and clean aesthetics, with a nine-storey reinforced concrete structure housing eighteen apartments.

The building was commissioned by the Civil Society of Contemporary Housing, a real estate entity founded by the two architects themselves. Its inscription in the Historical Monuments in 1995 (for its facades, roofs and common areas) underscores its heritage importance as a testimony to the avant-garde architecture of the 1930s. The building embodies the principles of functionalism, where form follows function, while reflecting the cross influences of Ginsberg's masters, including Le Corbusier's rationalistic approach.

The location of the building, in a district in the midst of urban change, reinforces its pioneering character. At a time when Paris saw the emergence of bold projects such as the Cité de la Muette or the Villa Cavrois, this building is part of a current that seeks to rethink collective housing. Its state of conservation and its late protection (1995) demonstrate a gradual recognition of the heritage of the twentieth century, often underestimated during its construction.

Architects Jean Ginsberg and Bertold Lubetkin, both of foreign origin, illustrate the contribution of international artists to the modernisation of Paris. Their collaboration, though brief, marked the French architectural history, foreshadowing subsequent achievements where concrete and pure geometry will become signatures of modern style. The building remains today an example studied for its structural audacity and integration into the Haussmann landscape.

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