In Marseille, for 95,000 euros, you can buy a home by Fernand Pouillon, a forgotten architect of the French reconstruction

Eight apartments are for sale in the center of Marseille, inside one of the buildings that best tells the story of the poetics of Fernand Pouillon (1912–1986): one of the great architects of the French reconstruction, author of a vision of housing that is accessible but not impoverished, where the well-being of the inhabitants and the right to beauty always remain at the center of the project. In recent years, Pouillon’s compelling biography and the catalog of his numerous works, created across France, Algeria, and Iran, have been progressively reconstructed. A contemporary of Le Corbusier—just as active and prolific—yet unlike him, unknown to most, Pouillon is now the focus of a rediscovery consisting of research, photography exhibitions, essays, articles, and documentaries.

His mission was to build better and faster, always defending the "right to beauty." His motto, "200 housing units built in 200 days for 200 million francs," rejected the dynamics that were leading all over Europe to the construction of massive, impersonal buildings, conceived more as containers than as homes. And, without yielding to the enthusiasm for reinforced concrete, Pouillon often made the use of traditional materials, such as stone, visible.

In this vast design activity, aimed primarily at public and social housing, a fundamental geographic reference is precisely Marseille. Pouillon’s figure remains complex, also due to his significant interventions in Africa, which are difficult to separate from French colonial history, despite his declared anti-colonialist position. But it is thanks to the commission to rebuild several Marseille neighborhoods razed to the ground by bombings that his career became unstoppable. Among his most prominent interventions are the reconstruction of the Vieux-Port, with six buildings housing 185 apartments and commercial spaces, and the La Tourette residential complex, which includes 260 apartments.

Less known but equally significant is the Building Canebière, completed in 1952 in the city's first arrondissement by Fernand Pouillon, René Egger, and Jean-Louis Sourdeau. The nine-story building is characterized by a curved facade, punctuated by openings and balconies that seek natural light and reaffirm Pouillon’s desire to ensure maximum comfort for domestic spaces.

Here, the eight apartments for sale cover various surface areas, from 26 to 72 square meters, and are all characterized by an open-plan layout, allowing for different configurations, purposes, and uses. The smallest is for sale at 95,000 euros, the largest at 225,000.

Recognized as a precious contribution to the 20th-century architectural heritage, the building stands on the site of the former Nouvelles Galeries of the Canebière, a historic landmark of Marseille retail, built in 1901 and active until the fire that destroyed it in 1938. The Building Canebière is, in fact, much more than a simple residential complex: it is configured as a true "building-city," capable of integrating housing, offices, and a shopping arcade. It is no coincidence that, for a time, the building hosted the studio of the famous architect himself.