The last of the Laval Castors is gone, she had participated in the construction of an entire neighborhood

Raymonde Robin died this week on the age of 92, seven years after her husband Victor. If its title stays unknown to a big a part of Laval residents, Raymonde leaves behind a small a part of the town’s heritage: the rue du Dôme. Certainly, she was a part of the Castors de la Mayenne: these French individuals who, on the finish of the Second World Struggle, constructed their very own homes, all on the identical mannequin, in a type of supplies buying cooperative. Thus, in 1948, round ten homes have been created on rue du Dôme, behind rue Magenta, on the left financial institution. Immediately, the road has turn out to be a useless finish, the homeowners have modified, however historical past stays within the minds of all residents.

A supplies buying cooperative

When the Second World Struggle ended, in Laval, the district of Magenta Avenue was in a metropolis state: “Right here it was bombed, there was nothing, it was solely fields“, says Nicole, one of many residents of the neighborhood. To compensate for this lack of housing, and to realize entry to property, working-class households themselves make ten homes, every measuring 90 sq. meters, all equivalent.. To purchase the required supplies, the households pooled the identical sums of cash, then they mobilized to hold out the constructions. “Everybody introduced their abilities, some dug, others made the concrete blocks“, explains Dominique Robin whose dad and mom have been of those Beavers.

“They did a variety of tinkering to construct these homes with supplies that aren’t noble: stable concrete blocks, joinery, no insulation.“, greets Stéphane, one of many homeowners of the rue du Dôme. When he moved within the 2000s together with his household Stéphane due to this fact found the”considerably spartan consolation” : “Except I am mistaken, there will need to have been no central heating on the time“.

“We discovered marble plaques in a few of our rooms, so there will need to have been stoves”

Small, equivalent homes

Since then, over the course of the assorted homeowners, redevelopment work has been carried out, specifically extensions and facades. Stéphane and Marie have introduced down some partitions and added an extension on the again to take pleasure in just a little extra gentle and a bigger view of their backyard. And after we stroll within the useless finish, we discover homes now of varied colours, typically with a facade very completely different from that of 1948.

Raymonde and Victor Robin’s home has seen just one change since its development: a facelift just a few years earlier than the demise of the previous civil servant. “The home till then was nonetheless with the unique cinder blocks seen, this was one thing essential to dad as a result of they’d constructed this home themselves“, remembers Dominique Robin, the son of the couple, now 63 years previous.

It is not simply the homes which have modified. In 70 years, the homeowners have succeeded each other and the road has turn out to be “very talked-about, some homes promote in per week“, explains Dominique, a neighbor. It have to be stated that the road is near the platforms, behind the station and shut to colleges, which appeals to numerous future homeowners.”Now, they’re extra of the center lessons, now we have retirees, former academics, a retailer supervisor and Lactalis staff“, Dominique counts. An virtually unchanged Castor home – Laurine Benjebria

A household spirit and mutual assist

If there’s one factor that has not modified regardless of the passage of time, it’s the very spirit of the Beaver motion, a spirit of mutual assist: “Everyone knows one another, it is a small village environment“, to such an extent that Dominique qualifies as an establishment the feast of the neighbors, which brings collectively”annually about fifty neighbors with youngsters, dad and mom“. This spirit is welcomed by the town and specifically by Xavier Villebrun, organizer and Director of Structure and Heritage of the town of Laval, who would additionally just like the architectural heritage to be preserved:”It’s by no means straightforward to guard the heritage of the 1950s, as a result of it’s a modest heritage“, he explains. For Xavier Villebrun,”there’s due to this fact a militant motion, a mirrored image to be carried out“round this topic.