L’école Corbuséenne d’Alger : L’oeuvre de l’architecte Louis Miquel dans les ensembles d’habitat collectif à Alger

Abstract

Despite not having achieved any of its projects in Algeria, Le Corbusier had a great influence on architects who will participate in the building of Algerian cities in attempting to reconstruct not the Arabic style but the Arab comfort. However the importance of the achievements of the modern movement in Algeria, often comparable to the best performance of European modernism, now the problem of this legacy takes a very big dimensions and the knowledge concerning this period are instead retrospective or just documentary. Among its architects, Le Corbusier a school of thought was formed and the architect Louis Miquel is one of the leading figures of this school. The specifique issue of this study is hopefully to put in evidence the main and significant features of Louis Miquel’s work in the field of collective housing ? In the other side, to chek wether such a work is related to political, social, cultural and economic faitures during this period? Last but not least, what are the technicals and stylistic innovations in his work? The case of study are restricted to the production of Louis Miquel in group housing (the Aéro-Habitat and the city Henri Sellier). This choice is due to the importance given by the architect for this type of architectural production. This research gives us the opportunity to reconsider the works of this school of thought and the values that can convey the Algerian colonial heritage of the twentieth centurie in the same time. This research should participate in the critical architectural knowledge and in the complementary understandings social, economic and technological problems of the built environment. The main objective of this work is to replace the architectural work of Louis Miquel in his context and in the history of architecture by adopting a comparative approach with Le Corbusier projects in the first time and with the most important international projects of this period in the second time.