In the nineteenth century (1859 -1884) Jean-Baptiste Godin built housing for 2000 residents near his cast-iron stove factory.
Godin wanted to share earned money with all the working class.
He wanted his workers to have the same modern conveniences as the middle class.
He created a cooperative store, a school, a library, a theatre, a laundry service and a swimming pool. He used warm water from the factory to heat each apartment.
Every family who lived in the Familistère could use these modern conveniences.
The swimming pool had a special floor that could go up or go down. So women and children who couldn't swim could go easily.
The building looked like Fourier's Phalanstère. It was a utopian achievement that stopped being used in 1968.
After ten years of restoration and development, the Familistère in Guise is now a museum.
The building of the Familistère in Guise
The inside courtyard with a beautiful glass roof
Different Godin stoves
GLOSSARY
| cast iron | a mix of iron and carbon | fonte | |||
| stove | an apparatus for cooking or heating that uses wood or coal | un poêle | |||
| convienence | something that is useful or helpful for day to day life | commodité | |||
| achievement | something that is done succesfully | accomplissement |