Paris looks back at Le Corbusier

The Pompidou Centre in Paris is taking a fresh look at the work of Swiss architect Le Corbusier. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) 

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 in his iconic designs. His theories of architecture and urban planning were pioneering.

Le Corbusier, who had a studio in Paris, wanted to improve living conditions in the crowded city, and proposed his ‘Plan Voisin’ – a city of steel-framed skyscrapers encased in glass, set in parks. The plan was rejected, but many places were later subjected to his style of modernist architecture.

Le Corbusier became a French citizen in 1930 and aligned himself with the far right. He was on a committee studying urbanism for the Vichy regime, which he believed would bring about what he called “a marvellous transformation of society”. 

But he later renounced the doomed Vichy government. Le Corbusier’s political allegiances have cast a shadow over his architectural achievements.