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Le Corbusier’s social housing was meant to be the dream. In a summer of extreme heat, it is a nightmare | Anna Richards
Climate & EnergyThe Guardian08 Aug, 07:02 pmAtlasHour
Climate & Energy

Le Corbusier’s social housing was meant to be the dream. In a summer of extreme heat, it is a nightmare | Anna Richards

When temperatures get to 40C inside, and French building regulations won’t even allow shutters, these tenants’ listed homes are simply unlivable The population of Firminy, south-east France, has been dwindling for decades. Its recent history is one of factory closures in a region built by steel, and locals tell me that many people leave for better opportunities in neighbouring Saint-Étienne, or to live in the Haute-Loire’s countryside. On the top of a hill, however, stands Firminy’s pride: l’Unité d’Habitation, an imposing tower of concrete designed by Le Corbusier. The architect’s final project is an oddity – a building for people, where two-thirds of the apartments are dedicated to habitations à loyer modéré (or HLM – social housing); but also a piece of history, whose facade and roof were listed as monuments historiques in 1993...

Source-linkedAtlasHour DeskThe Guardian08 Aug, 07:02 pm

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When temperatures get to 40C inside, and French building regulations won’t even allow shutters, these tenants’ listed homes are simply unlivable The population of Firminy, south-east France, has been dwindling for decades.

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