French designers Marie & Alexandre’s tryst with Le Corbusier’s Unite d’Habitation

Beginning in 2008, a site-specific exhibition series, Apartment 50—named after its location—was conceptualised by Jean-Marc Drut in what is perhaps one of the most iconic tangible pieces of architectural history, a residence in the Unite d’Habitation in Marseille. Designed by Le Corbusier after the Second World War and exemplary of his radical conception of the "house as a machine for living in", the apartment complex holds an exalted place in the Western architectural canon, signifying an architecture of rationalism and functionality, even asceticism. The heritage grade building in France is a mecca for designers and enthusiasts alike.

Hence, the biannual exhibition conceptualised by Drut that invites emerging and notable contemporary designers to reorganise and refit the apartment owned by him with specially designed and curated pieces, becomes a fitting form of public engagement. With each showcase, the question of juxtaposition, of the lineage of French design and the enduring legacy of Corbusier’s uncompromising design manifesto are explored afresh.

The programme recently concluded this summer’s showcase after a six-year hiatus, which was presented by French designers Marie & Alexandre. The exhibition included furniture designs the duo created specifically for the apartment, along with previously created artefacts, sitting within the space intimately, as if they had and would always belong there. To be able to enter into such a dialogue with a master of modern architecture is perhaps a dream most designers could only dream of.

Not only does context gain renewed importance in what the objects chosen for the space are, but also how each design responds to said context, as inspiration or instigation. "We were inspired by the building itself. Every detail, from the handles to the colours of the baseboards and ceilings, the nooks and storage spaces, everything [has been] designed to avoid wasting space and to optimise the feeling of volume. However, we were particularly inspired by the two children's rooms, the Jean Prouvé staircase and the kitchen by Charlotte Perriand," the duo states in a conversation with STIR.

The pieces in the design exhibition, which inhabited the apartment from July 15 - August 15, 2024, included chair designs, lighting designs, table designs and other curios, a complete assemblage of home furnishings. Of all the pieces that were on display, the furniture designers’ Glas Italia, with its transparent surfaces, showcases the fruitful inspiration of the context, from the objects’ modularity to minimal design, and to how they incorporate colour, reflecting the design principles employed by Corbusier.

Scattered throughout the cell-like residence in various configurations, the glass designs—a modular box with two coloured strips which, when crossed, create a third colour—frame and reflect different spaces in the residence. "In a space where each area serves a purpose, reminiscent of boxes within boxes led us to envision objects that could stack on both sides to form totems, or when combined with glass planks, transform into shelves," the designers explain. "Moreover, when paired with a tabletop, these objects could serve as desks—small, yet versatile and adaptable to various configurations," they add.

The exhibition includes another table designed by the duo with glass as its primary material. The designers relay that the piece's textured, dynamic amber surface, which uses an industrial glass called Float, was the result of a residency at a professional glassmaking programme. Complementing the table is a leather sling armchair, which takes direct reference from chair designs by Perriand. Horizon lamps (2022) made of Salernes clay, Berries lighting series (2023), Végétasia vases (2023) and Iris mirrors (2023) adorn various nooks and crannies in the exhibition space, adding a distinctly fantastical yet sophisticated dimension to the otherwise austere home. The interplay between the sparse yet colourful interiors designed by Corbusier with the sleek designs facilitates, as Corbusier might write, "the escape from a strictly useful environment to a region that is of sentimental well-being."

As Drut has previously mentioned, the exhibition is a year-round process where work begins in September, culminating in the public display in July. After the exhibition's close, Drut purchases a few pieces from the show, amassing an archive of designs specific to the fabled history of the apartment. Previously, the apartment has hosted Jasper Morrison, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Konstantin Grcic, Pierre Charpin, Alessandro Mendini and Normal Studio, each adding their voice to the space and a palimpsest of historic and contemporary design.

Speaking about the challenges such a context presented, Marie & Alexandre tell STIR, "This was a real question at the beginning. How could we fit into this complete project, where everything was so meticulously thought out? We wanted this collection to reflect where we are in our work, which is a global research practice we've been developing for the past four years."

The emerging designers’ practice interacts with craftsmanship techniques as a way to "question everyday domestic norms and attachment to objects, which they describe as active characters in life," as an official release states. Collaborating with various artisans–master glassmakers, ceramists, metallurgists and carpenters—and a thorough research-based approach, the duo’s work from object design to textile production, is an expression of empathy, surprise and fantasy. The latest pieces the duo displayed in Marseille will soon travel to Paris, where the showcase will be adapted for the signé gallery and presented at the launch of Paris Design Week 2024.