La Tourette (Marseille)

La Tourette is a housing complex in Marseille, France.[1] It is located at the Old Port of Marseille and was constructed in 1946–1953 [2] following designs by the French architect and urban planner Fernand Pouillon.[3]

Construction technology

La Tourette and Vieux-Port developments are examples of modern massive-precut stone construction, one of the recent methods in stone construction.[4][5]

La Tourette includes the first stone skyscraper, 2 Rue Saint-Laurent, a 16-storey tower made from load-bearing massive precut stone.

Design philosophy

The architect Pouillon believed that "The more modest the housing, the more monumental the architecture should be.".[6] The construction process at La Tourette was used by Pouillon to support his claim that he could "build 200 dwellings in 200 days within a budget of 200 million francs.".[7]

References

  1. ^ "Marseille 2e - La Tourette - groupe VIII | Ministère de la Culture". www.culture.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  2. ^ "Reconstructing Convention Fernand Pouillon's La Tourette Housing Project in Marseille (1946-1953) - TU Delft Research Portal". research.tudelft.nl. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  3. ^ "La Tourette Marseille + Fernand Pouillon". 16 March 2019.
  4. ^ "De reconstructie van conventies Fernand Pouillons La Tourette in Marseille (1946-1953)" [The Reconstruction of Conventions Fernand Pouillon's La Tourette in Marseille (1946-1953)] (PDF) (in Dutch). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-07-17.
  5. ^ "Gilles Perraudin : Constructing in massive stone today - les presses du réel (Book)".
  6. ^ "De reconstructie van conventies Fernand Pouillons La Tourette in Marseille (1946-1953)" [The Reconstruction of Conventions Fernand Pouillon's La Tourette in Marseille (1946-1953)] (PDF) (in Dutch). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-07-17.
  7. ^ "Fernand Pouillon: The Future That Didn't Happen - declad".

43°17′50″N 5°21′53″E / 43.2973°N 5.3648°E / 43.2973; 5.3648