In the 1950s, the city's population projections anticipated a rapid increase of 50,000 inhabitants. On the first instance, Le Corbusier was asked to design three housing units to correspond the demands, however, the population didn't grow up as aspected and the municipality opted to not build the other two units (due also to the lack of aestheticism deemed too imposing by the population).

The work began in 1965, at the same time as the inauguration of the House of Culture. Le Corbusier died the same year and was replaced by his collaborator Andre Wogenscky who inaugurated the building in 1967. Out of 414 dwellings, a maximum of 320 occupied apartments was reached around 1973.

In the 1980s, the building was no longer appreciated by its population and many families moved into single-family homes. The building was emptied, more and more, until the decision to close the northern part and to repatriate the inhabitants in the southern part to reduce the deficits of demand. Just on 2003, the public office of HLM, allow the reopening of the closed part, Furthermore, on August 2012, a school and the Erasmus Mundus Master MACLANDS (trades Heritage and Management of Cultural Landscapes Unesco) of the University of Saint-Etienne settles.