A Lieu d'Histoire, a Lieu de Memoire, and a Lieu de Vie: The Multidirectional Potential of the Cite de la Muette

An innovative social housing project located in the banlieue of Drancy and rooted in the garden city tradition and modernism, the Cite de la Muette constitutes a significant landmark in the history of early twentieth-century urban planning and architecture. As a fornzer internment camp and deportation center, it is also an important site of Holocaust memory. Simultaneously, the cite is a place where some five hundred residents currently live. Drawing on Michael Rothberg's concept of multidirectional memory, this article brings together intertwined stories of architecture, atrocity, and everyday life to paint a more nuanced picture of the Cite de la Muette's past and present. After exploring the cites threefold identity as a lieu d'histoire, a lieu de memoire, and a lieu de vie, I ask whether this place can accommodate multiple narratives and foster dialogue between difficult histories that carry critical social and political implications for the present and future.