Sainte Marie de La Tourette

Sainte Marie de La Tourette is a Dominican priory near Éveux in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, designed by the architect Le Corbusier and completed in the late 1950s. It is a key example of mid-20th-century modernist monastic architecture.

The complex is visited primarily for its concrete (béton brut) architecture, the interplay of solid volumes and light, and its austere internal organization which groups chapel, cloister, cells and study spaces. Architectural-study visits and guided tours are common.

Commissioned by the Dominican order and executed under Le Corbusier’s direction in the 1950s, the priory was completed as a working monastery and has retained that function while also receiving architectural visitors. It is part of the international recognition of Le Corbusier’s built work.

The priory sits on a wooded hillside near the town of Éveux, in the Rhône department, within the broader Lyon metropolitan region.

• UNESCO listing: Designed by Le Corbusier and completed in the late 1950s, it is included in the UNESCO World Heritage listing for "The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier."
• Visiting practicalities: Public visits are organised by guided tour at scheduled times because the building remains a functioning Dominican priory; bookings are recommended for groups and study visits.

What to See #

• Chapel: The concrete chapel is the central liturgical space, arranged to receive natural light through narrow vertical openings and forming the spiritual heart of the complex.
• Cloister courtyard: The cloister-like internal courtyard provides a planted enclosure between the residential and communal blocks and structures the monastery plan.
• Dormitory block: Dormitory and cell blocks contain the monks' living quarters arranged as repetitive concrete bays; these parts of the building exemplify Le Corbusier's use of modular concrete forms.
• Library and study areas: The library and reading rooms occupy purpose-built spaces intended for study and communal life, integrated into the overall geometry of the complex.