More than 80 years after its construction in 1928-31, the villa Savoye in Poissy, near Paris, still looks like a spaceship from another universe.
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On the roof of the villa Savoye in Poissy, the terrace has been decorated with a sculpture by the Mexican artist Santiago Borja.
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The Jeanneret-Perret villa in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland (1912), the white house built for his parents, was young Corbusier's first construction as an independent architect.
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The living room of the Villa Jeanneret-Perret, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland (1912).
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After the Second World War, Le Corbusier developed a more expressive, organic style with the Notre-Dame-du-Haut chapel in Ronchamp, France (1950).
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The inside of the Notre-Dame-du-Haut chapel in Ronchamp, France (1950).
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The Parliament of Chandigarh, India, 1961.
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Le Corbusier's colour concept was an integral part of his architecture, as shown in this detail from a building in Chandigarh.
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The Le Corbusier Centre in Zurich, 1967, which houses the Heidi-Weber Museum, is the architect's final creation. It represents a "revolution" as he abandoned concrete - "his" material - in favour of steel and glass.
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The Marseille Housing Unit in France (1947-1965) was explicitly conceived as a "machine for living", with apartments stacked vertically according to the concept introduced by the architect in his urban villas.
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The Marseille Housing Unit contains 337 apartments on two levels. The "machine for living" is 138 meters long, 25 wide and 56 high. It also has shops and a small hotel, accessible to the public by a rooftop terrace.
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The kitchen of the "machine for living" in Marseille, in accordance with Le Corbusier's colour concept.
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"Still Life", 1922. Le Corbusier was also a painter and color theorist who developed his ideas of "purism" in his journal "L'Esprit Nouveau".
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The Firminy-Vert Housing Unit, 1964-1969. "Modulor" figures, displaying the proportion system developed by Le Corbusier, are molded into the concrete façade. All of Le Corbusier's architectural designs were based on this proportion system, inspired by human stature.
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A semi-detached house in the city of Weissenhof in Stuttgart (1927), which now houses the museum of "the city of the white court". Le Corbusier was the only architect allowed to build two houses in this subdivision for workers, constructed as part of the exhibition "Die Wohnung".
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The constructivist building in the centre of Soyuz, built in 1929-1936, was the largest Moscow office complex with 2,500 employees. Today, it is the headquarters of the statistical service.
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The Maison La Roche n Paris (1923/1925) is now the headquarters of the Le Corbusier Foundation, which preserves the architect's legacy.
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The Maison La Roche in Paris, with the famous Le Corbusier-Liège furniture (1923/1925). Charlotte Perriand and Le Corbusier's cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, participated in its development.
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Le Corbusier was one of the world’s most famous architects, as well as one of the most well-known Swiss in history. Born in 1887 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Charles-Edouard-Jeanneret-Gris became known as one of the geniuses of avant-garde who drove the modernism movement of the 20th century. August 27, 2015 is the 50th anniversary of his death.
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Studied history and politics at University of Bern. Worked at Reuters, the newspapers Der Bund and Berner Zeitung, and the Förderband radio station. I am concerned with the Swiss practice of modern direct democracy in all its aspects and at all levels, my constant focus being the citizen.
The Neuchâtel native, who became a French citizen in 1930, had an international reputation as a theoretician of architecture, urbanist and artist. His furniture projects, produced in collaboration with Charlotte Perriand and his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, are some of the great classics of the history of design, and are still made today.
Out of a desire to improve human well-being, Le Corbusier focused on functional “machines for living” adapted to the new lifestyle of the modern era, rather than than luxurious palaces for the privileged. He did not measure the quality of a living space in square footage, or by the number of bathrooms, but rather by an exacting conception of layout and movement within a space that maximised its effectiveness.
Like other visionaries, Le Corbusier’s life was marked by a controversy – one that persists to this day. His plans for a “Radiant City” were described as totalitarian by critics. The debate has intensified in the last few years, with discovery of his links with officials of Vichy France as well as anti-Semitic remarks revealed by his correspondence.
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Le Corbusier still a key figure for young architects
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Le Corbusier, Herzog & De Meuron, Mario Botta and Peter Zumthor – to mention only the most prominent names – have put Swiss architecture on the world map. The younger generation has not yet achieved the same celebrity, but it is striking out in new directions of its own. For the 125th anniversary of the…
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The architect, city planner, designer and painter from La-Chaux-de-Fonds died 50 years ago. The exhibition reflects the continuity of his approach, with a look at his painted, sculpted and architectural pieces. One room presents 50 of his drawings, another section is dedicated to publications and to Le Corbusier’s first villas. Le Corbusier’s idealism was reflected…
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The 50th anniversary of Le Corbusier's death has sparked a huge controversy in France about his relationship with the Vichy regime. Three new books cast a harsh light on this Franco-Swiss architect, while an exhibition at the Pompidou Centre turns a blind eye to his darker side.
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Can Chandigarh, where Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier fully realised his modernist vision, provide the template for India’s future urban growth?
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Not only has the country produced several noteworthy architects of its own, it has also attracted several foreign big names. But the country’s small size and lack of large projects have resulted in many Swiss architects seeking work abroad. Architects in history The most illustrious of these architects before the 20th century was Francesco Borromini,…
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Despite being home to 11 World Heritage sites, the Swiss don’t grasp the full extent of this cultural richness and the special conservation efforts needed, warns a Swiss UNESCO official.
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