One of the greatest achievements of the avant-garde architect and town planner Le Corbusier is Cité Radieuse, a large complex in Marseille, which he completed in the 1950s. Often described as a "vertical village", it has 337 apartments, a restaurant, a hotel, a library and a nursery school. France classified an historic monument in the 1980s. When the gym on the roof of the building and solarium room went up for sale in 2010, the French designer Ito Morabito, who goes by Ora - Ito professionally, bought as a collector. "As you buy a piece of art, but the architecture," he said.
Honoring the iconic ground became self-proclaimed mission of Ora - Ito. Although he did not intend to transform the space into a centre of art, he came to feel that he "couldn't keep it to myself," he said. "It was a way of giving back to the city I had." Therefore, he transformed the roof of Cité Radieuse in MAMO, abbreviation of MArseille MOdulor, a site for exhibitions and creative workshops.
The revision was a three-year commitment that involved a complete restoration of the structure on the original roof, including the removal of an add-on unsightly and the realization of design elements in Le Corbusier plans that had not been made when the building was constructed. "I can understand Le Corbusier without knowing or without encountering," said Ora - Ito.
Public inauguration of MAMO this week is a flagship for Marseille, which was named the European capital of Culture 2013. Ora - Ito friend and collaborator, the French artist Xavier Veilhan, sometimes the first exhibition, a collection of sculptures created for large scale space. In warm weather, the roof will present rotation external exhibitions of the work of established artists. in colder seasons, Magee will present smaller shows of up-and-comers in a confined space.
"Le Corbusier would be proud," said Ora - Ito. "It is a tribute to a master." MAMO: Modulor Marseille opens June 8 at the exhibition «Architectones» by Xavier Veilhan. 280 Boulevard Michelet, 13008 Marseille, France, 011-331-4246-0009; Mamo.fr.