Cité Frugès

When Henri Frugès, a sugar trader, wanted to provide his employees with affordable housing, he approached an up-and-coming Swiss-born architect named Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, who would later become known as Le Corbusier. Le Corbusier applied his ambitious vision of minimalist, functional, standardized, prefabricated housing to a small pilot scheme in nearby Lège, where six houses and a communal building were delivered in 1924. He then deployed the same approach on a larger scale to a plot acquired by Frugès in Pessac, where around 50 homes were completed in 1926, albeit somewhat short of the initially planned 135 units. 

The distinctive, flat-roofed and colorful homes come in six modular variants. These include a row of 'Arcade' designs aptly connected by arcade-like features; twin 'Jumelle' designs; and the comparatively tall 'Gratte-ciel' (skyscraper) homes with outdoor staircases leading to desirable rooftop terraces. Even today, the various units look unusually modern. Back in the 1920s, they seemed revolutionary and otherworldly to the local population, who were more accustomed to the creamy limestone of Bordeaux's typical, low-rise "échoppe" housing than to reinforced concrete, red and blue painted walls, and suspended gardens. 

Despite the estate's modern conveniences, such as central heating, running water and large windows that let in plenty of sunlight, Frugès’s employees, who worked in central Bordeaux, were reluctant to move to the leafy suburbs of Pessac. Meanwhile, Frugès’s sugar business was struggling with the onset of the late 1920s financial crisis. The Le Corbusier homes were therefore sold on to private owners at a loss. 

While Le Corbusier’s reputation grew throughout the rest of his life (he died in 1965 aged 77), the Frugès estate gradually fell into disrepair. However, the owners of one of the Arcade models painstakingly restored their home and applied for it to be designated a national monument. This was achieved in 1980, triggering renewed interest in the estate and prompting further renovation efforts on other homes. This positive momentum was amplified when the local town council purchased one of the 'Gratte-ciel' units and transformed it into a walk-through museum. The museum provides a valuable insight into Le Corbusier’s early work and features a scale model of the estate hand-crafted by Henri Frugès himself in his later years.   

These days, residents have become used to seeing architecture students and enthusiasts exploring the estate. While most of the homes are well-maintained, one or two are little more than unkempt, empty shells. The estate is among the 17 Le Corbusier sites around the world that are collectively listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and, if you are tempted to own your own small piece of Le Corbusier’s influential architectural legacy, Cité Frugès homes do sporadically appear on the property market!