Le Corbusier (Charles Edouard Jeanneret-Gris). Le Corbusier (Charles Edouard Jeanneret-Gris)
An outstanding architect of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Charles Edouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier, was born in the Swiss town of La Chaux-de-Fonds. Charles initially chose the profession of a watchmaker-engraver, which was more of a family tradition, but he was soon fascinated by architecture. By chance, the bright architect of the 20th century could not receive a special education for his hobby, and his schools of architecture were only museums, libraries, travel, as well as creative communication with the luminaries of that time.
Villa Savoy 1929-1931
The years 1910-11 for Le Corbusier were spent in Berlin working in the workshop of P. Behrens, where he met Walter Gropius himself. By the beginning of 1916, the 29-year-old architect arrived in Paris to work at a building materials factory. On rest days or in the evenings, Corbusier studied art theory and painting, after which in 1918 he and his friend A. Ozanfant published the manifesto “After Cubism.”
Villa Savoy. Plans.
This literary appeal revealed the formulation of the main provisions of purism - a new trend in conventional painting. Afterwards, friends published the magazine “Esprit Nouveau” (new spirit), it was on its pages that Charles first signed the pseudonym “Le Corbusier,” the surname of his mother’s relative.
The year 1922 prepared changes for the young architect. Le Corbusier left the factory and, together with his cousin Pierre Jeanneret, opened his own design workshop in Paris.
The main theme of his work was the development of theses for the construction of modern cities and housing. Back in 1914, Charles put forward the idea of a “House with Cells” (the “Dom-Ino” project). The plan of this building resembled lined chains, like in the game of Dominoes, with columns in the form of points on the knuckles. In essence, this was the very first frame-type house project for serial construction.
Thanks to his famous Five Points of Architecture, formulated in 1926, modern man can study buildings such as:
- Swiss Villa Fale 1905
- Parisian House-atelier of Ozanfant 1922
- Paris Exhibition Pavilion "ESPRI NOUVEAU" 1924
- Salvation Army Parisian Home of Refuge (1926)
- Moscow House of the Centrosoyuz (1928-33)
- Villa Savoye in Poissy, France (1929-1931)
- House of Curuchet in the provincial Argentine town of La Plata (1949)
- Punjab Palace of Justice in India (1951-55)
- Art Museum in Japan, Tokyo (1957-59)
- Last built Boston Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts in 1962
Pavilion "Esprit Nouveau" 1924
Salvation Army House 1926
Assembly building. Chandigarh is the new capital of Punjab, India. 1951-1962
The main five architectural qualities in the works of Le Corbusier were the free layout of the building, so that it was possible to arrange the internal partitions in any way. In addition, the building had to stand on supports in the area of green cover, the free facade (not load-bearing) was designed depending on the layout. The buildings were to be crowned with flat roofs in the form of a terrace with a garden to restore the greenery taken away by the building. And finally, the window openings were merged into one strip window to create a special façade pattern and improved lighting of the premises.
Born Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, he first spoke about the need for fundamental changes in architecture. But even today his plans are no less revolutionary than many decades ago. Le Corbusier is the greatest and at the same time the most controversial architect of the 20th century. A passionate writer, art theorist, sculptor, furniture designer and painter, loved and hated by many, he forever changed architecture and the world in which we live.
Portrait of Le Corbusier Le Corbusier's architecture is rightfully considered innovative. He invented a new architectural language that marked a final break with the traditions of the past. The modernist abandoned unnecessary decorative elements, following the philosophy of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe “less is more” and introduced simple geometry of forms, asymmetry, horizontal planes and free layouts into practice. He appreciated natural light and preferred colors from a calm color palette: white and shades of gray. Le Corbusier was one of the first to actively use industrial materials such as concrete, steel and glass.
Whatever project the architect took on, be it private villas, residential complexes or churches, he always went beyond conventions. His contribution to modernism is invaluable, and the principles of Le Corbusier's functionalism became the basis of the international style. Below we present ten grandiose works of the architect from around the world.
Villa La Roche
Place: Paris, France
Years of construction: 1923-1925
The house consists of two separate isolated rooms and consists of the residential residence of the architect's brother and the art gallery of the collector Raoul La Roche, who is passionate about the art of cubism. The villa currently operates as a museum and exhibition space for the Le Corbusier Foundation.
At Villa La Roche, Le Corbusier first realized his revolutionary plans. He would later call them the “five starting points of architecture”: pilot posts, a flat roof that can serve as a garden and terrace, open-plan interiors, ribbon windows and a facade independent of the supporting structure. The project is rightfully considered the first truly modernist house with its unusual geometric shapes, minimalist aesthetics and muted color palette.
Villa Savoy
Place: Poissy, France
Years of construction: 1929-1931
In a wooded suburb of Paris, Villa Savoye was designed by Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret as a family country house. This project is a striking example of the master’s architectural innovation and the embodiment of Le Corbusier’s five principles of new architecture, which he finally formulated in 1927.
The building stands on pillars that support the weight of the structure, raised above ground level. Le Corbusier leaves the structure free of internal supporting walls and relieves the façade of its load-bearing function. The architect strives to “dissolve” the house in the surrounding nature with the help of wide ribbon windows, continuous glazing, greenish thin columns of the first floor and a flat roof-terrace.
Chapel of Notre-Dame du Haut
Location: Ronchamp, France
Years of construction: 1950-1955
The Roman Catholic Chapel at Ronchamp is one of Le Corbusier's most radical projects. This building marked a rejection of the functionalist philosophy that characterized the early works of the modernist.
“Everything in it is interconnected. The poetry and lyricism of the image are generated by free creativity, the brilliance of strictly mathematically based proportions, and the impeccable combination of all elements.”
The chapel was built on a previously existing pilgrimage site, which was completely destroyed during the Second World War. The soaring concrete roof, reminiscent of a seashell, is supported by thick, curvilinear walls with a scattering of irregularly shaped windows.
Residential complex in Berlin
Place: West Berlin, Germany
Years of construction: 1956-1957
Due to extensive bombing, Berlin experienced a major housing crisis after World War II. As a solution to the problem, the architect developed a project for multi-storey social housing consisting of 530 apartments. The concrete building, reminiscent of an ocean liner, became a symbol of post-war modernization in Germany and a prime example of Le Corbusier’s “machine for living.”
The "dwelling unit" concept was first successfully implemented in Marseille. The Berlin housing complex is an almost exact replica of the Marseille housing unit, recognized as the most significant example of Brutalism of all time. Corbusier sought to create a “city within a city” that would meet everyday human needs.
“This is not architecture for kings or princes, this is architecture for ordinary people: men, women, children”
National Museum of Western Art
Place: Tokyo, Japan
Years of construction: 1957-1959
The art gallery, located in the center of Tokyo, is the only project of the great modernist in Southeast Asia and one of the few examples of architectural brutalism in Japan. In its artistic significance, the building is in no way inferior to the paintings of Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet and Pollock, presented in the museum’s exhibition.
The three-story building, lined with textured concrete panels, was called by Le Corbusier a “square spiral.” From structural elements to architectural details and interior items, everything is built according to the Modulor system, based by Le Corbusier on the proportions of the human body. The staircase, symbolically placed outside the building, is an allegory of ascent to the temple of art.
Monastery of Sainte-Marie de la Tourette
Location: Eveux-sur-l'Arbresle, France
Years built: 1953-1960
The monastery of the Dominican Order near Lyon, built for a community of monks, looks more like the ruins of a long-forgotten civilization than a religious building: rough concrete surfaces, color contrasts, flat roofs covered with grass, asymmetry and illogical architectural composition.
The complex consists of many different rooms: one hundred separate cells for secluded worship and relaxation, a library, monastery premises, a church and study rooms. Unlike most of Le Corbusier's buildings, the structure does not harmoniously complement the surrounding reality, but sharply dominates the landscape, contrasting the stern purposefulness of faith with the chaos of an uncontrollable nature.
Palace of the Assembly
Place: Chandigrah, India
Years of construction: 1951-1962
The monumental eight-story Palace of Assembly is part of the Capitol, a government complex located in northern India at the foot of the Himalayas. Here Le Corbusier first put into practice some of his ideas about the ideal city. The raw concrete technique used in the construction of the Capitol became the starting point of Brutalism.
“The city is a powerful image that affects human consciousness. Can’t he be a source of poetry for us today?”
The main entrance is decorated with a portico in the shape of a curved boat supported by eight concrete pylons.The core of the building is the meeting room located in the inner cylindrical structures piercing the ceiling like a huge chimney. Bright contrasting elements of the facades enliven the heavy composition.
House of Culture Firmini
Location: Firminy, France
Years built: 1961-1965
House of Culture, completed in the year of Le Corbusier's death,built on the steep cliff of a former coal mine. The architect decided to preserve the old coal seam, thereby achieving a “poetic resonance” between industrial and natural materials, a symbiosis of the building with the environment.
The asymmetrical curved roof, reminiscent of an inverted vault, is the result of an innovative technical solution: concrete slabs were laid on tension cables. Another feature of the building is a special glazing system with special partitions and glass panels of various sizes.
Heidi Weber Pavilion (Le Corbusier Center)
Place: Zurich, Switzerland
Years built: 1963-1967
Le Corbusier's last lifetime project was commissioned by Heidi Weber, a Swiss designer and great admirer of the great modernist. The building, intended to house a collection of graphic works, sculptures, furniture and sketches by Le Corbusier himself, later became his creative testament. Today there is a museum dedicated to the life and art of the architect.
The building was built from materials atypical for Le Corbusier: glass and steel. Instead of the usual late-period concrete slabs in the architect’s work, there are enameled colored panels.The roof, assembled from steel sheets, is independent and clearly separated from the main structure. She, like a giant umbrella, protects the master’s artistic heritage from the outside world.
Church of Saint-Pierre de Firminy
Location: Firminy, France
Years built: 1971-1975, 2003-2006
The church in Firminy is the last major project that was never implemented during Le Corbusier’s lifetime, begun in 1960 and completed 41 years after his death. The concrete pyramidal church looks more like an industrial structure or a spaceship than a place of religious worship. The choice of such an unusual form is explained by the architect’s desire to convey the spirit of the place: the building was built in a small mining town.
“The church must be spacious so that the heart can feel free and elevated, so that prayers can breathe in it.”
Simple geometry with complex cosmological symbolism: toThe square structure at the base narrows as it rises, losing the severity of its form, metaphorically denoting the transition from the earthly to the heavenly.Tiny round windows dotting the wall like a constellation of stars project beams of light onto the constellation Orion onto the east wall of the church.Multi-colored cone windows, symbolizing the heavenly bodies, illuminate the room differently depending on the time of year and religious holidays.
This year, the architectural community celebrates the 125th anniversary of the great Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris), who had a colossal influence on the architecture of the 20th century. A number of events were dedicated to this date in Moscow, including an exhibition at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the republication of the book “Le Corbusier and the Mysticism of the USSR” and others.
Exhibition of works by Le Corbusier at the Pushkin Museum. Pushkin. Photo: Moscow 24
The name Le Corbusier is associated primarily with the famous chapel in Ronchamp and the Villa Savoy. But the architect is also the author of several projects for Moscow - the Palace of Soviets, the Central Union and the city development project "Response to Moscow", known as the "Radiant City". Le Corbusier came to Moscow three times - in 1928, 1929 and 1930. He was attracted by the new country and the new opportunities of the Land of Soviets.
In 1931-32, a competition was held in Moscow for the building of the Palace of Soviets. The palace was planned to be located on the site of the bombed Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The architect proposed a bold solution - he hung the main hall on a parabolic arch. But Le Corbusier’s innovative ideas were not implemented - at that time the avant-garde in Russia was already giving way to Soviet neoclassicism.
Le Corbusier is working on a project for the Palace of the Soviets. Photo: Pushkin Museum im. Pushkin
And the house of Tsentrosoyuz (Narkomlegprom) in Moscow was built according to the design of Le Corbusier. A competition for the design of the building was announced in 1928. Russian constructivist architects, brothers Alexander and Viktor Vesnin, Boris Velikovsky, Ivan Leonidov and others took part in it. They all asked the Chairman of the Central Union, Isidor Lyubimov, that the design be given to Le Corbusier.
Le Corbusier, when designing the building, brought to life his main postulates: giant glass surfaces on the facades, open pillars supporting office blocks, free spaces on the ground floor and horizontal roofs. Le Corbusier's Centrosoyuz project was extremely innovative, ahead of its time. This applies to the materials used, structures, and architectural appearance. The building is known for its unique internal ramps. The Tsentrosoyuz house was built in 1936 with the participation of architect Nikolai Kolli. It became one of the first large office complexes in Europe with continuous glazing. The building is located on Myasnitskaya Street, 39. Currently it houses Rosstat.
Centrosoyuz building. Photo: Sofya Kondrashina
In the 1930s, architects in Moscow developed the “Green City,” which was planned to be built in the northeast of Moscow. Le Corbusier was invited to comment on the project. He suggested that architects abandon the ideas of deurbanization and developed a new project for the city, “Answer to Moscow,” which is known as the “Radiant City.” Le Corbusier wanted to radically change the appearance of Moscow by building up almost the entire center of Moscow. Not surprisingly, the architect's proposal was not accepted.
During his visits to Moscow, Le Corbusier became friends with many avant-garde architects of the time, including Moses Ginzburg and Alexander Vesnin. Le Corbusier even used Ginzburg's work, his drawings of the Narkomfin house, when working on his “living unit” in Marseille.
House of Narkomfin. Architect Moses Ginzburg. Photo: ITAR-TASS
Le Corbusier is a French architect of Swiss origin, a pioneer of modernism, and a representative of international style architecture. Buildings based on his designs have been built all over the world - in Switzerland, France, Germany, USA, Argentina, Japan, Russia, India and Brazil. Characteristic features of Le Corbusier's architecture are block volumes raised above the ground; free-standing columns underneath; flat usable roof terraces (“roof gardens”); “transparent”, visible facades and free floor spaces (“free plan”). Over time, Le Corbusier's postulates became common features of modern architecture.
Prepared by Sofia Kondrashina
A provocative writer, a gifted painter, an innovator in modern architecture, the author of urban planning theories and an unsurpassed polemicist of the 20th century - Le Corbusier, whose works can be seen in almost every city in the world.
Le Corbusier: short biography and main principles of modern architecture
Le Corbusier, New York, 1947 1887
Charles Edouard Jeanneret-Gris was born in Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland). Later he took the pseudonym Le Corbusier.
1904
Corbusier graduated from the school of art and completed his first architectural project for one of the school's board members. At that time he was 17 and a half years old.
“At 17 and a half years old I designed my first house. He's just terrible! I always avoid him."
Villa Fallet, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. 1905 1907
With the money he earned, Corbusier left the provincial town and went on an educational trip to Italy, Austria, and Hungary, ending the trip in France.
1908 - 1909
In Paris, he worked as a trainee draftsman for Auguste and Gustov Perret. (Auguste and Gustave Perret), who were innovators in their field and promoted the use of newly discovered reinforced concrete. Subsequently, they refused to call Corbusier their student because of his “too extreme ideas.”
1910
During 2 years of work in Paris, Corbusier learned German and moved to Berlin for an internship with the master of architecture Peter Bernes (Peter Behrens), often cited as the world's first industrial designer.
Portraits of Le Corbusier 1911
Charles went on another educational trip, this time to the east - through Greece, the Balkans and Asia Minor. There he studied ancient monuments and traditional folk construction of the Mediterranean.
1912 - 1916
After the trip, he returned to his hometown and taught for 4 years at the school where he studied himself.
During the same period, Corbusier designed and patented the project House - Ino(Dom-Ino: dumos - home, ino - innovation). It is based on the concept of building from large-scale prefabricated elements. At that time, this was a significant innovative step in architecture. The architect later implemented the Dom - Ino concept in many of his buildings.
1917 - 1920
Charles never hid his dislike for his hometown, so when the opportunity arose, he immediately moved to Paris. There he met Amédé Ozanfan (Amede Ozenfant), who introduced him to modern painting. At the same time, Corbusier painted his first painting.
“I prefer to draw than talk. Drawing is faster and leaves less room for lies.”
Together with Ozanfant, they organized joint exhibitions of paintings, calling them exhibitions of “purists” - supporters of laconicism, fighters against eclecticism and decor. And they created the philosophical and artistic review magazine “L’esprit Nouveau” (New spirit).
Issues of the magazine “L’esprit Nouveau” 1925
“Everything in the house should be white. Every citizen is now required to replace curtains, bed linen, wallpaper and everything else with white items. When you cleanse your home, you cleanse yourself.”
In the same year, Charles created the “Plan Voisin” (Plan Voisin) or "A Modern City of 3 Million Inhabitants" - a plan for the radical modernization of Paris, which he considered "built on crossroads and trampled by the hooves of donkeys."
The architect planned to destroy half of the buildings, increase the height of new ones (up to 20 floors), create a modern road system and divide the city into squares, thereby increasing the comfort of living in the city.
“My task, my desire is to pull modern man out of chaos and disasters, placing him in a happy atmosphere and harmony.”
1928
This year Charles built the Centrosoyuz building in Moscow. It became a new, unprecedented example for Europe of a modern business building solution.
1929
In his journal L'esprit Nouveau, Corbusier published the "Five Starting Points of Modern Architecture" - a set of rules for modern architecture.
1. The house must stand on supports. Due to this, the rooms get rid of dampness, have enough light and air, the construction site becomes a garden that runs under the house.
2. Internal walls are located in any place: the layout of one floor does not depend on the other. There are no capital walls, instead there are membranes of any strength.
3. The facade moves forward from the supporting structure. Thus, it loses its load-bearing properties, and the windows can stretch to any length without direct relation to the internal division of the building.
4. A strip window into which the window openings merge is a must. Due to this, not only the lighting of the premises improves, but also the geometric pattern of the facade is formed.
5. At the top of the house there should be a flat roof-terrace with a garden, “returning” greenery to the city, which is taken away by the volume of the building. Sewage pipes are located inside the house.
Corbusier did not spoil his customers with decor. Color was the only type of decoration he allowed.
Portraits of Le Corbusier For many young architects of the “new movement”, the set of rules became the “starting point” in creativity, and for some, a kind of professional credo.
Villa La Roche (Villa La Roche) and Villa Savoy (Villa Savoye), which Corbusier designed, are striking illustrations of these rules.
IN Ville La Roche Since 1968, the Le Corbusier Foundation has been located, which is dedicated to preserving and popularizing the architect’s legacy.
Villa Savoy the owners left 75 years ago, exhausted by the struggle with leaks. Now the villa is an architectural monument.
1940
Restoration work began in France, and the authorities invited Corbusier as an urban designer. He created plans for the reconstruction of the French cities of Saint-Dieu and La Rochelle, in which he followed his idea of a "green city".
1946
Le Corbusier erected the building of the Claude et Duval manufactory - a four-story block with production and office premises, with continuous glazing of the facades.
During construction, “sun cutters” (rise-soleil) were used - special hinged structures that protect the glazed facade from direct sunlight, which Charles himself invented. From this moment on, suncutters became a trademark of Corbusier's buildings. They perform both a service and a decorative role.
1948
Le Corbusier developed a system of proportioning in Modulor architecture, based on the golden ratio and the proportions of the human body. When developing the system, Charles took three anatomical points: the top of the head, the solar plexus and the top point of a person’s raised arm.
The architect himself described it as “a set of harmonious proportions, commensurate with the scale of man, universally applicable to architecture and mechanics.”
"Modulor" Le Corbusier 1950
The Indian government of Punjab invited Corbusier and other architects to design a new capital for the state. This project became the largest in his life.
The most holistic and original works include the Palace of the Assembly, the Palace of Justice and the Open Hand monument.
Palace of the Assembly
"Open Hand"
Palace of Justice
1952
The beginning of a new period for Corbusier: he moves away from asceticism and purist restraint. Now his handwriting is distinguished by its richness of plastic forms and textured surface treatment.
The “Marseille block” became one of the most famous projects in the new style. This is an apartment building in Marseille, which is located on a spacious green area.
Most public spaces are designed on the roof. It has a garden, a jogging track, a clubhouse, a kindergarten, a gym and a small swimming pool. Shops, medical facilities and a small hotel are located inside the building itself. This house, which Corbusier called “a city within a city,” is spatially and functionally optimized for its inhabitants.
The project was conceived as an experimental housing with the idea of collective living (a kind of commune).
“It is my honor, joy and satisfaction to present to you a perfectly sized residential unit, an exemplary model of modern living space.”
1950 - 1960
Corbusier designed a number of buildings that cemented his reputation as Europe's No. 1 avant-garde architect.
The main ones:
Ronchamp Chapel
The atheist Le Corbusier took on the work with complete creative freedom. He found inspiration in a large shell found on the beach, which seemed to him an expression of absolute security.
Complex of the monastery of La Tourette
The building is built in the shape of a rectangle with a courtyard, which is divided by covered galleries.
Building of the Museum of Western Art in Tokyo
19 years after the completion of construction, Le Corbusier's student Kunio Makaeva added several additional rooms to the museum.
1965
Corbusier died at the age of 77. He drowned while swimming, presumably due to a heart attack. This happened near Cape Roquebrune, where he lived in his summer house Le Cabanon with an area of 15 sq. m. Le Cabanon is a tiny residence that is built as an example of Corbusier's minimal dwelling.
“Youth and health guarantee the ability to produce a lot, but it takes decades of experience to produce well.”
2003 - 2006
Jose Oubreri, a student of Le Corbusier, completed the construction of the Church of Saint-Pierre de Firminy, the plan of which the great architect developed back in 1963. Then a lack of money caused the project to be frozen. Jose did not lose hope of completing the work and in the early 1990s he created a fund to raise funds. In 2003, construction began again.
More works by Le Corbusier
Swiss Pavilion, France, 1932
House of Culture, France, 1965
House of Guiette, Belgium, 1926
United Nations Building, USA, 1952
House of Doctor Curuchet, Argentina, 1949
Villa Sarabhai, India, 1951
House in the village of Weissenhof, Germany, 1927
Secretariat Building, India, 1958 (Tomo Yasu), official site
You can catch the parallels between the works of Corbusier and the domestic architect Alexander Zhuk in our article about in St. Petersburg.
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Post in honor of Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier, an architect, artist, author of urban planning theories, and a symbol of modernism in 20th-century architecture, was born on October 6, 1887.
Le Corbusier created his first architectural project at the age of 17 under the guidance of an experienced teacher. It was a residential building for Louis Fallet, a member of the board of the School of Art, where Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (real name Le Corbusier) studied decorative and applied arts. Next in the series: and more about
Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris) and his creations
In 1914, the architect opened his own workshop in his native Swiss town of La Chaux-de-Fonds, and already in 1922 he created his own office in Paris and settled there. Painting occupied a special place in Le Corbusier's life. With his friend, the artist Amédée Ozanfant, they established the term “purism” in the artistic world, the principles of which Le Corbusier transferred to his architectural projects. Purism rejects the decorativeness inherent in its predecessor, Cubism, and proclaims the image of a “purified” reality. In 1920, they created the magazine “Esprit Nouveau” (L`Esprit Nouveau – “New Spirit”), which existed until 1925. The publication became a platform for discussions about art and architecture, and it was there that Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, under the pseudonym Le Corbusier, published the most important articles for his work, later combined into the collections “On Architecture”, “City Planning” and others.
Le Corbusier, like many of his colleagues, became widely known for his projects of private villas. In the 20s, he built several buildings in a modernist style, new and defiant for his time - Villa La Roche/Jeanneret, Villa Stein in Garches, Villa Savoy in Poissy. They began to talk about Le Corbusier as a representative of the architectural avant-garde, because he used fundamentally new techniques in design. The distinctive features of his projects were white smooth facades, simple geometric shapes, floating volumes, horizontal glazing, and reinforced concrete structures.
In 1925, Le Corbusier built a pavilion at the International Exhibition in Paris under the familiar name “Esprit Nouveau” as a kind of manifesto of the architectural avant-garde. The French pavilion was in many ways similar to the USSR pavilion, designed by our compatriot Konstantin Melnikov.
Le Corbusier began large orders in the early 30s. At the same time, he participates in a competition for the construction of the Central Union building in Moscow and visits the USSR. After World War II, the architect emerged as an urban planner and created plans for the reconstruction of the French cities of San Dié and Rochal. It is here that Le Corbusier consistently pursues his famous idea of the “Radiant City,” which is still discussed by urbanists and partially finds its application in megacities. In his Radiant City, everything is perfect: symmetry in the layout, many parks and green areas, a developed transport system and convenient zoning. The architect proposed building up residential areas with apartment buildings no higher than 50 meters and housing up to 2,000 people in them. These ideas were partially embodied in the famous Marseille Unit, and then in the architect’s largest project - the planning of the city of Chandigarh in India.
1. Villa La Rocha/Jeanneret in Paris
In 1923, the architect built a semi-detached house for banker Raoul La Roche and his older brother Albert Jeanneret. In this project, for the first time, the main features of the architect’s original style appeared, by which we recognize his work: white color, large vertical planes, prismatic shapes. Nowadays, the Le Corbusier Foundation operates in the building of Villa La Rocha.
2. Villa Savoye in Poissy
More recently, Villa Savoy and the Moscow Melnikov House became twin monuments as part of the Russian-French Year of Cultural Tourism 2016–2017. They are both deservedly symbols of modernism in architecture. In the project of the Villa Savoye, Le Corbusier embodied all his innovative ideas, which are also called the “five starting points of architecture”: piles instead of the usual foundation, white smooth facades, horizontal strip glazing, a flat roof on which a garden can be built, free layout of the premises.
3. Centrosoyuz building in Moscow
Fortunately for us, a building was also built in Moscow based on Le Corbusier’s design. Tsentrosoyuz was built from 1928 to 1935, and during this time the architect came to Moscow more than once, where he met the main figures of the Soviet avant-garde - the Vesnin brothers, Konstantin Melnikov, Moses Ginzburg. Tsentrosoyuz is a completely non-typical office building and an example of architectural modernism. For Russian construction practice, the use of reinforced concrete structures was a completely new experience. With the help of advanced building techniques, Le Corbusier was able to apply his favorite open-plan principle, as well as provide an internal air-conditioning system to create a comfortable working environment. Endless staircases and ramps form the unique interior appearance of the building. On October 15, 2015, a monument to Le Corbusier was unveiled in front of the facade of the building on Myasnitskaya Street.
4. Chapel at Ronchamp
The architect received the order to build the chapel in Ronchamp in 1950. Here he creates an amazing architectural form of the building, unlike its previous geometrically correct volumes. Le Corbusier, inspired by natural images, made the roof look like a crab shell or a sea shell. The interior of the chapel is illuminated by multi-colored reflections from the stained glass windows in the southern wall of the building.
5. Residential unit in Marseille
In this project, the architect realized his dream of a “garden city”. Post-war Marseille was in dire need of living space, and Le Corbusier was able to fit 337 apartments into a reinforced concrete frame, while creating comfortable living conditions. The house was raised on powerful supports, inside of which communication pipes were placed. The living space was divided into several levels, connected by “aerial streets”. On one of the streets, general supply services and a hotel were organized, and the top floor acquired a gym and a kindergarten.
In the cladding of a building, Le Corbusier was the first to use “raw” concrete (béton brut), which he then used in the construction of the Palace of the Assembly in Chandigarh.
6. Monastery of La Tourette in Lyon
The secluded monastery is made entirely in the style characteristic of Le Corbusier. The building is built in the shape of a rectangle with a courtyard divided by covered galleries. The ascetic appearance of the monastery is combined with amazing functionality, borrowed by the architect from the projects of apartment buildings.
The monastery space contains cells for 100 monks, a church, a public area with refectories, a library and meeting rooms. As in his other projects, the architect certainly dilutes the gray color with colored spots. Here he paints the chapel attached to the church in blue, red and yellow.
7. Chandigarh Indian City Project
For Le Corbusier, Chandigarh was the first exceptional opportunity to build a completely new city. As a result, it turned out that he got the breakdown of the ensemble plan and the construction of the Capitol buildings - the political center of the city. The construction of the remaining facilities was entrusted to British and Indian architects. One of the most important projects created by Le Corbusier in Chandigarh is the Palace of the Assembly. It is recognized as the most original and holistic in functional terms. The architect placed several volumes into the huge internal hall - the Upper Chamber hall with a glazed top in the form of a pyramid and a meeting room in the shape of a hyperboloid. Externally, the building stands out for its fancy facade with a curved portico facing the Capitol.
