The Familistère, located near the small town of Guise in the north of France, is a peculiar building that dates back to the second half of the 19th century. It was designed by Jean-Baptiste André Godin, an industrialist who sold cast-iron stoves and who wanted to make the life of his workers easier.
The goal of the Familistère was to create a town within the town: the workers and their families would live close to the factory in middle-class apartments when most of them came from poor backgrounds. They had access to a global heating system and several commodities such as a school for children, a swimming pool, a public garden, etc. All families had access to hot water, showers and toilets, which was a luxury at this time. Finally, retiring workers were given a pension which was once again not always the case in this century.
In addition to the social benefits, the apartments were quite large and designed in a way that no one would feel like they were at a disadvantage: the size of the outside windows was calculated to let the light in equally, an inner courtyard also ensured that all rooms had access to daylight.
The general structure of the building offers several possibilities regarding mathematics: your pupils can calculate the general surface of the building, the size of the windows depending on their position in the building as a way to have enough light during the day but to prevent the place from getting too cold in winter or too hot during summer, the width of the chimneys to make each room warm enough… but you can also stray away from architecture to calculate the amount of stoves that were made during the day, the number of people who lived here, etc.
Godin’s thought process was to put into practice a popular thought among business owners back in the 19th century, who believed that they needed to provide a decent lifestyle to their workforce. While the idea met some success worldwide, in particular in France and in the USA, most of the attempts failed rapidly as they could not achieve sustainability. However, the Familistère worked, and is still working today: the company still exists 150 years later, and the families of the former workers still live in the non-museum parts of the building.
If you want to visit the Familistère and learn more about the history of the place, it is a 2-hour drive from Paris or Brussels. If you are looking for other educational activities in this area (since there are no big cities around), you may also travel to one of the numerous military cemeteries that commemorate the fallen soldiers of WWI and WWII.