The ideas which at the very first glimpse seem great may occur detrimental. An example of such an idea became the district Le Mirail in Toulouse erected in 60-ties XX century according to the design by George Candilis - one of the associates of Le Corbusier and successor of his ideas. At the beginning the argumentation seemed extremely attractive..
Look at the link: http://www.ina.fr/art-et-culture/architecture/video/I07110334/toulouse-le-mirail.fr.html
Traditional Place de Capitole in center of Toulouse is crowded with cars from the early afternoon. The parking place takes the whole surface of the square:
This as well as the following photos go from the film cited above which explains the design ideas and which was realized with the participation of the project author Candilis. The same as the ideas which are cited here.
That's why in the new quartier Toulouse le Mirail the car movement will be in the durable way separeted from the pedestrian movement. We do not want the squares and piazas to become taken by cars, we want them to be destined for people.
That's the reason of creation of the continouous wall of buildings which separates the two worlds - the world of people and rest and the world of cars and work:
The linear center of Toulouse Mirail is accompanied by linear drawing of formerly existing green areas.
Within the green areas there are the monuments historic which are to be preserved and reconverted to the contemporary uses.
The XIXcentury city is too dense. It should be replaced by open green areas. The inhabitants should be assured the appropriate living conditions.. The streets should be left for the sphere of work and the rest needs open green areas.
View of the whole of the project.
And the model of future constructions. Buildings in the form of block of flats of huge hight and length. Housing the appropriate number of flats - the same as in the tenement houses of the traditional city.
All these beautiful ideas and gorgeous aims were not realized. Or worse - the project had been accomplished and the effects occured different than the assumtions. The ideas of Candilis - the designer of Toulouse le Mirail were just fiction.
The film below is a series of photographs made in 2002, when the revitalisation of the quartier was decided as well as the restoration of the "scale of the city". The decision was followed by demolition of the important part of existing blocks of flats. The reasons for demolition: non-human scale, environment impossible to change and to reconvert into more humanitary one. The social problems: exclusion, crimes, sense of danger, drug-addiction, which took place in the quartier were also significant.
Bellefontaine - Etat des lieux en 2002
Załadowane przez: Architecture-urbanisme. - Obejrzyj najnowsze wideo
The quartier just before and during the demolitions :
Expropriations au lance pierre, d'un monde à l'autre. Part1
Załadowane przez: Architecture-urbanisme. - Gorące wiadomości
Very interesting film showing the interview with the designer of Le Mirail - George Candilis. He admits that the conceived scale of the housing had been too big and that he realised that after it was built: http://www.ina.fr/art-et-culture/architecture/video/I07113548/toulouse-le-mirail.fr.html
Below the demolition of one of buldings. The blocks which formed the barre dividing two worlds- as assumed at the very beginning: the world of cars and pedestrians, the world of work and rest - and which in reality became the walls of ghetto.
Démolition quartier Bellefontaine - GPV Toulouse
Załadowane przez: Architecture-urbanisme. - Obejrzyj najnowsze wideo
The ideas became fiction. But this is not the end of the story. The further actions which had to be undertaken in le Mirail to recover the quartier have been very expensive.
The reconversion project budget is 314 mln Euro and it is the highest budget for such project in France. It covers two main fields of activities: social and urban. The project aim is to reconstruct the traditional city in le Mirail. And the main issue - to liquidate the ghetto. The info goes from the GPV (Grand Projet de Ville) site.
The photo below shows "the street" which used to join two worlds. The photo is a cadr of film Expropriations au lance pierre, d'un monde à l'autre.
Was it really impossible to imagine this space, check the scale and think before the quartier had been constructed? It is difficult to judge now. That's enough to say that this experiment on human beeings.. did not succeed.
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