ATBAT Shadrach Woods Began His Career on the Building Site of The
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ATBAT Shadrach Woods began his career on the building site of the Unité d'Habitation in Marseille as part of the Atelier des Bâtisseurs (ATBAT), a group of architects and engineers charged by Le Corbusier with producing the construction drawings for the building. In 1951, with construction on the Unité coming to a close, Woods crossed the Mediterranean to set up an office with the architect Georges Candilis and the engineer Vladimir Bodiansky in Morocco. Known as ATBAT-Afrique, the group developed a concept of “habitat for the greatest number” and built projects throughout North Africa in the following years, mostly housing for both indigenous and European inhabitants. Above: Two housing types emerge in the Carrières Centrales project in Casablanca. Both the Nid d’abeilles (left) and Sémiramis (right) feature enclosed patios that give privacy to their Muslim inhabitants. With Bodiansky’s tower building (not pictured), the structures frame a public open space. #4 Shadrach Woods and Le Corbusier Late 1950s Le Corbusier took Woods into his office despite his lack of experience in architecture. The master and his theories had a lasting impact on the design and thought of Woods, particularly in the areas of housing and urbanism. #2 Shadrach Woods and Georges Candilis at the Unité d’Habitation c. 1949-1950 Woods met the Azerbaijan-born architect Georges Candilis while working on the Unité in Marseille. The two formed a long, productive partnership that lasted until 1968. #13 ATBAT Modulor grid 1951 Among the ideas Woods borrowed from Le Corbusier was the Modulor. From this model, Woods and Candilis derived proportions and dimensions for their North African projects. #10 Shadrach Woods, Georges Candilis and Pierre Mas “Contribution to the Study of the Habitat” 1953 In this text, Woods and Candilis develop the architectural concept of “habitat,” which “insures to man the accomplishment of his spatial, physiological, spiritual and emotional needs and protects him from weather and atmospheric conditions,” and also “integrates individual and family life into the manifestations of social and collective life.” #17 Carrières Centrales buildings, Ecochard grid housing and bidonvilles c. 1953 This photograph shows the buildings of Woods and Candilis in the foreground with the low-rise housing constructed by the planner Michel Ecochard and the shantytown beyond. Candilis believed multilevel collective housing was suitable for the migrants because most of them came from a region where communal living was an acceptable building form. #7 Carrières Centrales, Casablanca 1952 These three buildings, constructed in the Carrières Centrales of Casablanca, contained one hundred dwellings and eight shops. They represented Candilis’ and Woods’ most significant project in North Africa and had enormous influence on a generation of European architects. #15 Nid d’abeille section 1952 The most visually engaging and structurally inventive of the Casablanca buildings is the Nid d’abeille, so called because the staggered, suspended terraces of its façade resemble a beehive. Each unit included one of these high-walled patios, which were dedicated to the cooking and sanitary functions of the dwelling, as well as two interior rooms. #16 View of Sémiramis corridor 1952 Woods and Candilis modeled the Sémiramis building on traditional Moroccan communities. Privacy was a central concern, and the apartments are almost entirely sealed off from the exterior. With their high walls, the corridors resemble the narrow streets of the medina. #11 Proposal for joined Nid d’abeille and Sémiramis 1953 This unrealized proposal joins two of the building types realized at the Carrières Centrales into one structure. #5 Alison and Peter Smithson, “Collective Housing in Morocco,” Architectural Design 25 January 1955 ATBAT-Afrique’s built work, though limited, had a profound influence on the discourse of modern architecture in Europe. These buildings made an enormous impact at the ninth meeting of CIAM at Aix-en-Provence in 1953, which Candilis and Woods attended. #8 Housing at Sidi bel Abbès, Algeria 1954 The work of ATBAT-Afrique was not limited to Morocco. In Algeria, the group constructed numerous residential units for the French colonial population. The experience provided Woods with an opportunity to further develop his ideas about housing “for the greatest number.” #19 Housing under construction, Balata, Martinique 1957 ATBAT was also involved in projects in the Caribbean, the site of investigations into housing in tropical climates. #20 Tropical housing perspective 1957 As in Morocco, sensitivity to intense sunlight and airflow were key to the designs for housing in tropical climates. The pavilion-like structures were efficiently constructed but also responsive to local traditions and topography. #22 Tropical School construction diagrams 1957 Because most French colonies lacked the technological capabilities to mass- produce buildings efficiently, Woods and Candilis proposed to create structures from prefabricated metal components. #33 View of Iran housing model 1956 Woods’ investigations of housing for Muslims extended beyond North Africa. With Candilis, he proposed low-cost dwellings for oil workers in the port city of Abadan, Iran. The project included clusters of low-rise, pinwheel-like structures, which were to be built from prefabricated elements and local brick. FRENCH HOUSING After returning from Morocco in 1954, Woods and Candilis partnered with Alexis Josic from Le Corbusier’s Paris office. The new partnership of Candilis-Josic- Woods entered competitions for mass housing in France, winning several major commissions. Drawing from their experiences in North Africa, they created designs for economical and flexible units capable of being combined into buildings of various scales. These blocks resisted the slab-like appearance of many other housing projects in France by including large windows, balconies, setbacks and recessed entrances. Above: In their mass housing projects, Candilis-Josic-Woods strove to use efficient building techniques and systems. In a collaboration with Jean Prouvé, experimental modular metal panels were applied to a building in the Parisian suburb of Le Blanc-Mesnil. #18 Business contract between Shadrach Woods, Georges Candilis and Alexis Josic 1960 After returning to France, Woods and Candilis organized their own studio with the Yugoslavia-born architect Alexis Josic in 1956. Their partnership lasted for twelve years. #24 Opération Million proposal 1954 Faced with a housing crisis, the French government launched the design competition Opération Million in 1954. The challenge was to design housing units costing one million francs—half the average cost of an apartment at that time—with a defined square footage. Candilis-Josic-Woods won first prize, along with a commission for 2,500 dwellings in the Paris region. #25 Model of Opération Million apartment 1955 #23 “Operation Million – France” Architecture d’aujourdhui 1954 This article documents the prize-winning entries from the Opération Million competition. In Candilis-Josic-Woods’ first-place design, modular blocks can be joined in a variety of ways at their circulation cores. The buildings can thus be composed to frame and protect open spaces. #28 + #29 Views of housing at Bobigny 1960 In the Parisian suburb of Bobigny, Candilis-Josic-Woods designed and built 735 apartments as part of the Opération Million commission. The development was distinguished by its combination of high- and low-rise housing blocks and the construction of shared amenities like a shopping center and playgrounds. #32 Exhibition of Bobigny housing 1960 A solution to the French housing crisis required the cooperation of the government, architects and charitable organizations. The religious group Emmaus, led by the social reformer the Abbé Pierre, subsidized the construction of Candilis-Josic-Woods’ Bobigny housing. These projects were promoted at public expositions like the one seen here. #26 Floor plan with calculations c. 1961 The state-led program for mass housing was governed by the strict definition of dwelling types, ranging from a 22 m2 studio to a 92 m2 multi-bedroom apartment. In this sketch, probably for housing at Toulouse-le-Mirail, scrawled square footage calculations are a reminder that Candilis-Josic-Woods’ designed within a rigid system of norms. URBAN EXTENSIONS Following their success with Opération Million, Candilis-Josic-Woods took on the task of designing entire new towns. These projects were conceptualized as self- sufficient, organic extensions to existing urban areas. Woods proposed centering developments around a service “stem” of communal facilities and infrastructure. Residential cells clustered around these “stems” would remain temporally viable for the lifespan of the family, while the “stem’s” spaces would be free to change according to quicker cycles of social and economic demand. These projects exemplify Woods’ ideas about a “habitat’” that exists beyond individual dwellings, incorporating schools, commercial centers and cultural facilities. Above: Bagnols-sur-Cèze was a new town developed by Candilis-Josic-Woods to house the staff of France’s first nuclear power plant. The development won the nation’s first Prix d’Urbanisme. #34 “Bagnols-sur-Cèze” Techniques et Architecture 6 1958 Candilis-Josic-Woods received the commission to expand the southern French town of Bagnols-sur-Cèze following the development of France’s first nuclear research center nearby. Required to design housing for an