The title for this piece is taken from the modernist architect Le Corbusier’s
residential housing design. The first Unité d’Habitation,
finished in 1952, was comprised of 337 apartments, shops, recreation,
health and educational facilities and a hotel. The structure presented
a radical departure from the traditional urban European residential model. Five Unité d’Habitation blocks
were built in Europe; four throughout France, one in Berlin. The
name for the blocks translates to “Housing Unity” or “Housing
Unit” and was augmented by the French with the disparate nicknames
Cité Radieuse (“Radiant City”) and La Maison du Fada
("The Lunatic's House.")
