ABSTRACT
The civic centre of the city and the terrace of the housing block are similar in nature. Le Corbusier, following in the Ruskinian tradition which he inherited from his master, L'Eplattenier, was, during his formative years in La Chaux-de-Fonds, a profound admirer of the great works of the past in general, and of the Gothic Revival in particular. In his writings, Le Corbusier often mentioned the powerful analogy that exists between Graeco-Roman architecture and the logic of modern production. As both the Saint-Dié civic space and the Marseille Housing Block were designed to glorify the collective, clues for identifying the urban spaces that might have served as models for them may perhaps be found, once more, in Camillo Sitte's City Planning According to Artistic Principles. In Toward an Architecture, Le Corbusier published a plan and a view of the Acropolis, which he took from the work of Choisy.
