Sad news for fans of one of the best pieces of modernist architecture on Earth: Unité d’Habitation, designed by Le Corbusier and completed in the early 1950s, caught fire yesterday. No one was injured, but three apartments were destroyed; many others, as well as the building's iconic façade, were damaged. The 12-story building has remained a residence since the beginning, with 337 apartments, shops, a hotel, doctors' offices, and a restaurant, not to mention a kiddie pool on the roof and awesome views of Marseilles and the Mediterranean. It's the most famous example of Villa Radieuse, Le Corbusier's groundbreaking, utopian concept of urbanism "in which all citizens, regardless of class, were guaranteed the 'joys' of light, space, and greenery," according to Architizer.
· Marseille's Cité Radieuse damaged by fire [Guardian via Architizer]
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