Paris residential complex with unique design in France

In Vua-le-Sec, in the eastern suburbs of Paris, there is a residential complex that is unique for France. Divided into two blocks separated by a main road (Avenue General Leclerc), it consists of56 autonomous buildings inspired by seven different countries, each of which is unique.

This complex, called Merlin, is the result of a reconstruction effort after World War II, which remained unnoticed by historians and even residents nearby for a long time. It was known as the "city experiment", and was developed from1946 to1951 to provide affordable housing for families who were left homeless due to repeated bombings during the war.

Residents inhabited modern furnished houses designed by various Swedish, Finnish, British, Swiss, American, Canadian, and French architects. The houses were mostly assembled from prefabricated kits delivered by boats and trucks, clearly differing from typical French houses of that period.

At first, they belonged to the state, but in the1980s they were slowly sold to private individuals, many of whom extended, renovated, or demolished them. "Cité Expérimentale" had the allure of an anti-class utopia, says historian and researcher Helen Caru, who works at the Cultural Heritage Department of the Seine-Saint-Denis (Île-de-France). She wrote a book about Merlan and is one of the few historians who have studied this residential complex. She became interested in it when she was asked to write an essay about it in2008.

The concept of reconstruction was already present in the minds of most architects during the war, but the government used the opportunity to modernize the industry by introducing new methods, materials, and ideas through state-organized competitions. Vaux-le-Vicomte was selected for experiments after it suffered from one of the most destructive bombings in the Île-de-France region during the war. The city was declared a disaster area in August1944, and the Ministry of Reconstruction and Urbanism focused its efforts on two projects: apartment buildings near the train station and a district of individual houses in the Merlan area.

At that time, the state was looking for construction models that would allow for the quick and inexpensive production of housing, while improving living conditions.

The "Maison CIMAP" house was the first built in Merlane and had a reinforced concrete structure. The Canadian "Faircraft" house was built of wood and aluminum, the English "Unitroy" and "Orlitt" houses were built using concrete slabs, and the "Maison STUP" house - using pre-stressed concrete. In addition, the houses were insulated using various materials, from fiberglass and wool to wood fiberboard. Thermal and sound tests were conducted to check their performance - which was unusual and rare for that time.

In Merlan, Swedish and Finnish houses were located next to each other alongside half-timbered British houses. Residents of Merlan felt like they were in a village in the1950s, children played in the parks, neighbors helped each other, historical documents say. But the atmosphere and demographics changed when the state began selling parts of the complex. Since then, Merlan became popular after it was listed as a historical monument in France in2000. Currently, property prices in Merlan are around5000 euros per square meter, which is slightly above the average in Vua-le-Sec.