Camping units

In 1948 Le Corbusier, who frequented the villa E-1027 of Eileen Gray and Jean Badovici, became friends with the Rebutato family, who had just opened a modest restaurant, L'Étoile de mer, looking out over the bay of Monaco. He came back every year to board there and decided in 1951 to build himself a cabanon on the spot. Thomas Rebutato ceded the land; in return the architect offered to build holiday housing. His research on the holiday dwelling led in 1956 to the camping units, completed in 1957.

Two projects came before them without being carried out. The first, ROQ (1948-1950), was a scheme for a holiday city at Cap Martin: duplex flats to the Modulor's dimensions, which outside stairs and lifts served by underground galleries would link; against the disorderly building of the coast, Le Corbusier turned to vaults and houses joined together. The second, ROB (1952-1955), provided five holiday duplexes of the ROQ type but simpler; a violent storm on the plot in 1954 stopped it too. These studies prepared the units of 1956.

The camping units have been protected since 1994; they were repainted in 2003, then restored in 2016-2017. An order of 29 September 2021 lists them as historic monuments, together with the guinguette L'Étoile de mer, the studio and the ground of the two plots. They are tied to the Cabanon component of the series that entered the World Heritage List in 2016.

The Corsican carpenter Charles Barberis built the five units, taking up part of the Cabanon's interior fittings. They illustrate the architect's research on minimum dwelling and on a modular, economical leisure dwelling designed for seaside tourism.

Each unit covers 8 m² and follows the Modulor (2.26 x 3.66 x 2.26 m); two people sleep there, each in a bed of their own, and a small stair leads to the entrance. The landscape is part of the project: large windows frame the view of the sea. The units are a serial version of Le Corbusier's minimum dwelling, which offers "the comforts of a luxury cabin aboard a liner".

Barberis lightened the principle to meet the architect's budget; the building, first planned at ground level, was finally set on pilotis. Le Corbusier left him in charge of the work in order to concentrate on the polychromy, in bright colours, of the ceilings and exterior joinery. On the north gable Thomas Rebutato painted the figure of the Modulor, reinstated in the latest restoration.

The units are seen during the guided tour of the whole Cap Moderne site, together with the villa E-1027 and the Cabanon; there is no unaccompanied visit, and online booking is required.