Nestled just forty minutes east of Montpellier along France’s Mediterranean shoreline lies La Grande Motte, a striking mid-century modernist complex that once drew scorn as “architectural pollution”. Its bold geometric silhouettes — evoking pyramids and mastabas — rise fluidly from a former farm’s sandy, verdant terrain, poised between the lagoon of Étang de l’Ór and the open sea.
Conceived by Jean Balladur during the post-war era of Les Trente Glorieuses, this development aimed to reconcile affordability with aesthetic ambition. Originally designed as a resort for nearly 38,000 visitors, today it is home to around 8,000 full-time residents and welcomes over 100,000 seasonal guests.
Photographers Laurent Kronental and Charly Broyez embarked on a mesmerising visual exploration between 2019 and 2023, crafting the series La Cité Oasis — un Rêve Futuriste au bord de la Méditerranée. Their dusky, luminous frames, devoid of people yet rich with melancholic hints — umbrellas perched, towels drying, open windows — give the architecture its silent pulse. These images meld influences from Teotihuacan’s ancient pyramids to Le Corbusier’s radical Cité radieuse in Marseille.
Initially derided, La Grande Motte gradually gained recognition for its bold urban planning and harmonious shapes. By 2010, it earned the distinction of Monument Historique under France’s 20th Century Heritage, affirming its metamorphosis from overlooked modernism to celebrated icon.
More info: Broyez and Kronental on Instagram.
