beyond your map

Totem Tower, situated in the Front de Seine of the 15th arrondissement in Paris, France, is a residential skyscraper consisting of 31 floors and two basements, offering a total of 207 homes. The unique design places the housing blocks in clusters, suspended on a central bearing structure, strategically positioned to optimize their views of the Seine. With its distinctive appearance, Totem Tower stands out as one of the most original towers in Front-de-Seine.

Maison du Bresil, designed by Le Corbusier in collaboration with Lucio Costa, is a significant French concrete building in the Cite Universitaire de Paris. It serves as a residence hall for Brazilian academics and a cultural hub, offering exhibition spaces and communal areas. The five-story concrete volume stands on stilts, with administrative spaces below and joined by a curvilinear passage.

The Headquarters of the French Communist Party in Paris was designed by the prominent Brazilian architect, Oscar Niemayer. This building is considered one of the most important examples of modernist architecture in France. The Communist Party commissioned the building in the late 1960s, and it was completed in 1971. The building's design features Niemayer's signature use of curves and reinforced concrete. The structure's main feature is a large cantilevered meeting hall that seems to float above the ground. The building also includes offices, conference rooms, and a library. The Headquarters of the French Communist Party is a testament to Niemayer's innovative architectural vision and his commitment to using architecture to advance social and political goals.

In the 16th arrondissement, just a short distance from Maison La Roche, you can find a group of Modernist villas designed by Robert Mallet Stevens. Among them, number 10 stands out as the most remarkable, serving as a studio for the Martel brothers, Joel and Jan, featuring exquisite doors and ironwork crafted by Jean Prouvé. Mallet Stevens, an influential architect during the interwar period, was also known for his film set designs. His creation of Villa Noailles on the southern coast of France served as inspiration for the Surrealist film "The Mysteries of the Château de Dé," directed by Man Ray.

The Swiss Pavilion, built in 1930 at the Cité International Universitaire in Paris, was entrusted to Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret without a competition. Despite initial hesitance, they undertook the project and created a modern architectural laboratory, addressing urgent issues like dry-wall construction and acoustic separation during the challenging construction process.

French architect and landscape designer Edouard Francois was entrusted with renovating and redesigning the Fouquet's Barriere Hotel in Paris, located in the elegant and expensive "golden triangle" facing Avenue des Champs Elysees. The project involved the entire hotel plan, including courtyards, administration offices, and a spa service, as well as designing new facades for extensions. The context and surroundings were crucial factors in the architectural approach.

Les Choux de Créteil is a group of ten cylindrical buildings, each 15 stories high, located in the Paris suburb of Créteil. Designed by architect Gérard Grandval and completed in 1974, these buildings are known for their unique balconies shaped like cabbages. The project was recognized as a "Heritage of the 20th Century" by the French Ministry of Culture and was considered a symbol of 1970s French architecture. The curved balconies were intended to have ornamental plants, but this part of the project was never realized. In 1998, the area was upgraded, and one building was rebuilt to encourage social mixing, with a quarter of the apartments allocated to students.

This apartment building by Perret is a canonical work of 20th-century architecture. It showcases brilliant use of reinforced concrete and anticipates Le Corbusier's free plan concept. The nonstructural partition walls allow the possibility of creating open spaces with free-standing columns. The floor layout is well-organized, with main and service stairs, a kitchen, and designated rooms for various purposes.

Designed by Martin Van Trek, a student of Jean Ginsberg, this social housing complex comprises multiple 15/16-story buildings and four prominent towers named Prelude, Fuge, Sonate, and Cantate. Soaring impressively to a height of 118 meters, the complex stands above the neighborhood, accommodating nearly 2,000 apartments, and goes by the name "Orgues de Flandre." It masterfully emphasizes verticality through its voluminous structures and adds dynamism with the inclusion of terraces and balconies. The construction took place between 1974 and 1980, occupying a 6-hectare site in a high-density area of France, not far from other urban social plans in Paris, such as the Cite Michelet. In addition to the residential units, the project boasts various amenities, including a shopping center, farmer's market, schools, artist studios, sports facilities, and a Senior Citizen's Home.

Antonin Planex (1895-1949), highly regarded painter and sculptor enlisted in 1924 the renowned architect Le Corbusier to design a villa for himself. While Le Corbusier was typically known for designing villas with a sense of spatial freedom, this particular project called for an urban house that would align harmoniously with the neighboring facades. To make the investment profitable, Planeix requested two ground-floor apartments for rental purposes. The ground floor includes a central garage and two studio apartments with mezzanines, while the first floor houses the sculptor's apartment. The second floor boasts a well-lit workshop with shed-style windows. Staying true to his principles, Le Corbusier crowned the building with a roof terrace, providing breathtaking views of the city and the serene garden at the back.

The City of Refuge, undertaken by the Salvation Army in 1929, faced many difficulties before its inauguration on December 7, 1933. Constructed with reinforced cement, it utilizes a forced air system, a keystone of Le Corbusier's contemporary principles, despite limited funds. The unstable terrain necessitated reinforced concrete piles to support the structure. With only narrow facades facing the streets, the architects found creative solutions to maximize space and lighting. Despite being listed as cultural heritage, the City of Refuge remains in use today, a testament to its enduring significance and architectural brilliance.