Port Of Call

Celebrating its 500th anniversary, Le Havre has evolved from a grey, industrial port to a vibrant and open city where architectural innovation meets maritime influence, explains Sophie Gardner-Roberts.

- Sophie Gardner-Roberts

Long dismissed as a dull stopover city, Le Havre has an unexpected side that encourages innovation and offers a surprisingly good quality of life.

Almost entirely destroyed by World War II bombing, the port was rebuilt by Belgian architect Auguste Perret, whose pioneering use of concrete shaped the city as it is today.

Construction work began immediately after the war as the government was eager to rebuild one of its most important ports and make Le Havre a shining star of post-war reconstruction.

From 1945 to 1964, Perret formed a working group of architects to design a city that would eventually house 40,000 people in 10,000 apartments. His bold design with its uniform lines, large open spaces and monumental buildings, earned a listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005 and has inspired architects the world over.

Perret’s town planning required detailed calculations to model each apartment block using similar dimensions. The side of every building would be exactly 6.24m, a measurement often referred to by locals as a metaphorical ‘musical note’ synchronising the city.

The aim of the reconstruction was to rehome those who had lost their houses in the bombings. Perret’s working group designed the apartments to be practical, spacious and light. Today you can see a reproduction of a show flat, as it would have been furnished in 1946, in a permanent exhibition.

Architectural innovation

One of the most impressive elements of the reconstruction is the Hôtel de Ville, or town hall, with its 70m-high tower overlooking a large square and park. It sits at the point where the old and the rebuilt town meet.