Le Corbusier, the internationally influential architect was born in a small town Chaux de Fonds in Switzerland. It was situated between two isolated highlands of the Jura mountains. Born in a family of watchmakers, Charles Edouard Jeanneret, as his parents named him, had an eye for detailing. His father was a watch dial painter and his mother was a musician, hence he inherited some talent for arts.
In the isolation of the mountains, he was brought up in an orthodox protestant environment that probably influenced his work later for he was ruthlessly honest in his designs. He always observed things around him and posed innumerable mind-boggling questions for his dad to solve. Though intelligent, his aptitude was not for the mundane. So, at the age of 13, he left two conventional schools to join his father and learn the trade of engraving watch dials.
His art teacher Charles L’ Eplattenier who coaxed Le to do a course in engraving, noticed his exit from school. Le called him his only teacher because he laid a strong foundation by reinforcing Le’s interest in history of art, drawing and the naturalist aesthetics of Art Nouveau. Corbusier was a quick learner with a keen eye for observation and a flair for design. Realizing the potential of his creative bent, L’ Eplattenier steered Corbusier’s perspective towards architecture.
He decided that Corbusier, having completed three years of studies, become an architect. After Corbusier graduated from college in 1907, L’ Eplattenier built the plinth of Corbusier’s career by allowing him practice on local projects. On his advice, Corbusier undertook a series of trips Greece, Rome, Istanbul and other cities of Europe, that played a decisive role in the education of this self-taught architect. While traveling, he would always carry a sketch book in which he would draw what ever that impressed him. This habit he carried with him for life.
The tour of Europe provided him deep insights into the Greek and Roman designs, the reference of which is very visible in all the books written by him. It also opened new vision and architectural wisdom that finally took shape and forms in all his creations.
Supported by pillars of 'knowledge' education in engraving, painting and gold-smithy at the Ecole-d’ Art in Chaux de Fonds, Corbusier began developing taste of art. He designed and decorated the house for Louis Fallet. He absorbed the aesthetic surroundings during the three years of travel through central Europe and the Mediterranean. His receptive mind discovered three major architectural milestones
The first was the Charterhouse of Ema at Galluzzo, in Tuscany, which provided a contrast between vast collective spaces and ‘individual living cells’, which formed the basis for his conception of residential buildings. Even today the reflection of this deep
understanding can be seen in his villas with courtyards. His next find was the 16th century late renaissance architecture of Andrea Palladio in the Veneto region of Italy and the ancient sites of Greece. These spaces treasured many fundamentals of classical proportion. The post and lintel stone architecture, with its colossal scale, impressed the fresh architect so deeply that most of his buildings were scaled to look mammoth-like. Even the designers of America’s skyscrapers refer to his books as the Bible. Lastly, popular architecture in the Mediterranean and in the Balkan peninsula gave him a repertory of geometric forms and taught him the handling of light and the use of landscape as an architectural background.
After having gathered experiences from his trips, he set about building his career. He worked in leading architects’ offices at Berlin, Dresden and Vienna, where he learnt the functional and practical aspects of designing. But nothing could deter him from his original vision of designing massive structures. Corbusier pieced together all his findings, observations, reading and experience together and developed an iron-concrete-skelett system ‘Domino’ for multi-storeyed buildings. This system stands as an ideal for today’s frame-structure construction.
His maiden attempt was a success and the scale of Chaux de Fonds town fell short for the great designer. So, at the age of 30, he moved to Paris where he met the renowned, painter and designer Amedée Ozenfant, who introduced him to sophisticated contemporary art. Ozenfant initiated Le Corbusier into Purism. This new pictorial aesthetic, rejected complicated abstractions, and returned to the pure, geometric forms of everyday objects. The association of the two designers cemented the script of the Purist manifesto Après Le Cubisme. This publication was a successful attempt to explain the principles of Purism.
The innovative architect earned the epithet of Nouveau meaning new, keeping in tune with the new-found image he joined hands with Poet Paul Dermee and founded a polemic avant-garde review, L’ Esprit Nouveau which was open to arts and humanities. With brilliant collaborators, it presented ideas in architecture and city planning already expressed by Adolf Loos and Henri van de Velde. It fought against the ‘styles’ from the past and advocated against elaborate nonstructural decoration. The review defended functionalism, which was considered to be a pre-requisite to any design. He argued that a design without function was like a ladder without the first rung.
In this publication, it was for the first time that he signed the pseudonym Le Corbusier. But, he preferred the name Jeanneret for his endeavors in paintings and sculptures. In 1918, Corbusier put brush to canvas and his first oil painting was born. His picture subject was Vertical guitar and still life with a pile of plate. This work of art reflected his liking for still life. After having diversified from architecture to painting he continued his forays in town planning. His horizon of creative imagination expanded from engraving to architecture to town planning. He published his town-planning concept in the form of a project of a city with three million inhabitants. The principle of the Radiant City, formed the draft basis for the division of vehicular traffic and pedestrian flow as well as the building in the form of big housing units into which care and service equipment were well integrated. Basic geometrical forms were the fundamental constituents of this development. The projects earned Le Corbusier lot of critical acclaim. The project was discussed and dissected world wide, to controversial proportions. Le Corbusier later on developed the basic ideas contained in it, to design town planning projects for Algiers, Antwerp and Bogota.
Besides major publications, Corbusier kept writing many articles, which were collected and published as Vers une architecture. Later translated as Towards a New Architecture, the book is written in a telling style that was to be characteristic of Le Corbusier in his long career as a polemicist. "A house is a machine for living in" and "a curved street is a donkey track, a straight street, a road for men" are among his famous proclamations. His books, whose essential lines of thought were born out of extensive travels and lectures that hardly changed in 45 years, constituted a bible for succeeding generations of architects. Corbusier held an exhibition at the Modern Effort Gallery jointly with Ozenfant, which showed the bridge connecting art and architecture.
On the architectural front, Corbusier designed villas and houses, which elevated him to the highest pedestal of fame. As was always to be the case with him, unbuilt projects, as soon as they were published and circulated, created as much a stir as did the finished buildings. One of the projects, which is considered as the outstanding example of good modern architecture, is the Citrohan House. It displays the five characteristics of modern architecture. Pillars supporting the structure thus freeing the ground beneath the building, a roof terrace that is transformable into a garden and an essential part of the house, an open floor plan, a facade free of ornamentation and windows in strips that affirm the independence of the structural frame. The interior provides the typical spatial contrast between open, split-level living space and cell-like bedrooms. It is a salute to Corbusier that even today his designs are used as the basic plan for residential buildings. After all, isn’t duplicating the best form of appreciation?
Corbusier continuously published his ideas and works that always kept him in the limelight. The niche he had carved for himself made him a legend. The goodwill he had earned is unparalleled among his tribe. Even in recent times, he is remembered for his social ideals. From the very beginning he was interested in building for large number of people. He was always exploring the innovative possibilities of design.
Le Corbusier participated in the competition set by the League of Nations for the design of its new center in Geneva. His project, with its wall of insulating and heating glass, is one of the finest examples of the architect’s gift for functional analysis. For the first time, anywhere he proposed an office building for a political organization that was not a Neo-classical temple but corresponded in its structure and design to a strict analysis of function. This plan is now the prototype of all United Nations’ buildings. Unfortunately, he was eliminated from the competition on the grounds of not having been drawn up in India ink as the rules of the competition specified. After the disappointment of Pessac, where he was scorned upon, for having experimented with colors in a traditional city for workers, this disqualification further embittered Le Corbusier in his attitude of antipathy toward official circles.
So, Le Corbusier went back to designing villas for individuals. He started practicing with his cousin Pierre Jeanneret, but the partnership was soon interrupted by World War II, when Pierre joined the French Resistance. With the 20-year association brought to a halt all of a sudden, Corbusier prepared to work with the Vichy Government. There was little building work being done, so Corbusier diverted his thoughts towards elaborating of the first bases of the ‘Modular’ concept, a scale of
harmonic measures that set architectural elements in proportion to human stature. This theory was finally perfected in 1950, and Le Corbusier used it in designing all his subsequent buildings. By the time war ended, Le Corbusier had welded the attacks launched against him by representatives of traditional architecture into a myth. He had become, for the public, the Picasso of architecture, and for architecture students, the symbol of modernity-an enigma.
Corbusier founded the International Congress of Architecture Modern (CIAM) and set up centers in more than seven cities all over the world. His concern for the world led him to believe that he would finally be able to apply his theories of planning in the post war reconstruction of France. He prepared two plans for the cities of Saint Dié and La Pallice – Rochelle. At Saint Dié in the Vosges Mountains, he proposed regrouping the 30,000 inhabitants of the destroyed town into five functional skyscrapers. These plans were rejected, but they subsequently circulated throughout the world and became doctrine. Le Corbusier was bitter, however, and his bitterness hit the roof when he was
named a member of the jury of architects for the construction of the United Nations building in New York city instead of being asked to design it himself.
Corbusier then decided to tap avenues outside France. He became largely active and was named as architectural advisor for the construction of North Indian state of Punjab’s new capital – Chandigarh. For the first time in his life, Le Corbusier was able to apply his principles of city planning on a metropolitan scale. Bereft of any reference to local tradition and ambience, he designed the Palace of Justice, the Secretariat, and the Palace of the Assembly. Unfinished concrete, with windows sheltered by enormous concrete sunshades, the cultural facades, swooping rooflines and monumental ramps are principal elements of his architecture, which immediately influenced architects all over the world. He built the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo, the Carpenter Visual Art Center at Harvard University and also designed an Exposition Pavilion in Zurich that was constructed after his death.
Le Corbusier was never impressed by the recognition, which was heaped upon him, that came a day very late in life.
Le Corbusier died suddenly in 1965, while swimming. The man who had thought himself so misunderstood in his own time was given a national funeral, and in 1968, the Le Corbusier Foundation was created in Roquebrune, Cap Martin in France.
Le Corbusier was indeed the greatest architect of the 20th century, who always thought big. He never earned that deserving recognition for his work as his foresighted vision was never really understood by, forget ordinary mortals but even by his fraternity. His designs of modern architecture were revolutionary and the principles of his designs are used as thumb-rule for present day architecture. His unflagging passion and missionary zeal changed the way we think about our buildings and cities.
A man of innumerable facets, who dabbled in sculpture, furniture, landscape and paintings, always to emerge successful in all his endeavors. He made friends easily and shared long term relations with them. Joseph Savina, a cabinetmaker from Brittany, made a wooden sculpture inspired from Le Corbusier’s painting. This experiment led to a 20 - year partnership which saw creation of 44 sculptures in natural or polychrome wood.
This architect who started his career at the lowest rung of the professional ladder, made it to the top with a lot of criticism and hard work. Surprisingly, when he reached the top, the world ran up the stairs to congratulate him.
•October 6, 1887 Le Corbusier (Charles Jeanneret) was born to a designer and a music teacher in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland)
•1891 He joined the elementary school of Chaux-de-Fonds.
•1900 He trained to be an engraver ciseleur, painter and goldsmith in the Ecole d’ Art under Charles l’ Eplattenier.
•1902 He earned a diploma of honor at the international exhibition of the Ornamental Arts of Turin.
•1904 He was steered towards architecture by Charles l’ Eplattenier.
•1905 He executed his maiden project to design a villa in Chaux-de-Fonds for a member of the School of Art, Louis Fallet, in collaboration with Rene Chapallaz, an architect.
•1907 Traveled extensively in Italy visiting Milan and Florence for two and a half months. He visited the chartreuse of Ema, Galluzzo, Siena, Bologna, Padoue, Gargoano, Venice, Budapest and Vienna.
•1908 He met Josef Hoffmann an architect and artists Moser and Klimt. He explored Paris and Jordan.
•1909 He designed the entrance at Auguste and Gustave Perret as a draftsman in half a day. He came back to his hometown to build the villas, which he had designed over the years.
•1910 He spent a few months with the architect Peter Behrens, who had influenced the founders of the Bauhaus movement. Corbusier participated in the national skiing competition in Grindelwald. Le worked towards improving Art by uniting people for the Foundation of the Studies of Arts. He joined the Mission of Art de La Chaux-de-Fond’s school, to study the movement of applied arts in Germany. Here he made a detailed study of the ornamental art in Germany.
•1911 Corbusier met Heinrich Tessenow, the architect of the garden city of Hellerau. He departed from Dresden to make an adventurous trip through Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest, Tarnovo, Gabrovo, Kasanlik, Istanbul, Mountain Athos, Athens and Southern Italy with his friend Auguste Klipstein, a student art history. He returned to Chaux-de-Fonds to create with Charles L’ Eplattenier, a new section of the School of Art.
•1913 Corbusier featured his first exhibition of 10 watercolors – The Language of Pierre.
•1914 He traveled to Cologne to participate in the exhibition of Werkbund, where he studied the multi-storeyed building pattern ‘Domino’ and developed an iron concrete skelett system.
•1915 Clubbed with his visit to Paris for the exhibition, he studied in the National Library and prepared the manuscript La Construction des villes.
•1917 Corbusier made a definitive departure from Chaux de Fonds and opened the first workshop of architecture in 20 rue de Belzunce. His second venture was in 29 rue d’ Astorg, which was finally installed in 1933. His third initiative was to join hands with the company of application of reinforced concrete, and use this knowledge as his biggest asset.
•1918 Corbusier met the painter Amédée Ozenfant and polished his skills. He held meetings with legendary artists, Juan Gris, Picasso and Lipchitz. These discourses led him to paint his first oil painting. He named it Fireplace and exhibited it at Purist exhibition in the Gallery Thomas in Paris with Ozenfant.
•1919 Corbusier established and published the magazine L’ Esprit Nouveau (The New Spirit), in which he demonstrates his concept of modern architecture. He signed the name Le Corbusier for the first time, which belonged to one of his albigeois ancestors.
•1920 He published Communist Manifesto of the Purism. From here on, his works were determined by the contact of elementary, geometrical forms.
•1921 Le Corbusier diversified into furniture designing. He exhibited designs of tables at the Gallery Druet.
•1922 He first met Yvonne Gallis, a Monegasque model, his wife to be. Constructed villa Besnus (Vaucresson).
•1923 Corbusier’s architectural works appeared as a book under the tittle Verse une Architecture (Towards Architecture). He participated in an exhibition of the construction house in Weimar. He exchanged ideas with German architects like Walter Gropius and Bruna Taut. He designed the ‘Citrohan house’, which resembles a car, a machine for living in. He built many private houses on concrete pillars defying the traditional load bearing function.
•1924 Corbusier held conferences in Geneva, Lausanne, and Prague to propagate his understanding of art. The genius architect published a book on town planning based on the construction of houses of workers and the houses of (Lipchitz Micstchainoff) Boulogne.
•1925 He was given the title L’ Esprit Nouveau for dedicating the Pavilion L’ Exposition of the Arts Décoratifs to the Minister Anatole de Monzie.
•1926 Corbusier’s father Georges Edouard Jeanneret left for heavenly abode.
•1927 Le Corbusier participated with several drafts in the building of the Stuttgart White court settlement. He visited Antonic Gaudi’s constructions in Brussels and Frankfurt, then proceeded to participate in the competition for the Palace of League Nations in Geneva.
•1928 He founded the (CIAM) Congress International of Architecture Modern, in Sarraz. Corbusier’s colossal views in A House – A Palace. The busybee within him went on to attend conferences in Prague and Moscow. He rested his busy schedule and planned a getaway in Picquey in Arachon’s pond
•1929 Corbusier became active as a city planner and established many important buildings like the night shelter of the Salvation Army. He took up journeys in South America to attend a cycle of 10 conferences. The designer in him presented a varied collection of furniture in the Autumn Lounge show, in association with Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret. His liasoning set up the second congress CIAM in Frankfurt and Corbusier went on to study Mundaneum and town planning.
•1930 Corbusier tied the nuptial knot with Yvonne Gallis on December 18. Work took him to Moscow where he met Eisenstein, Meyerhold and Tairov who added new dimension to his style of work. He held conferences for CIAM III in Brussels. He published "Precision on the present state of the Architecture and the Town planning."
•1931 Le Corbusier explored Spain with his cousin and partner Pierre Jeanneret and then moved on to visit Morocco and Algeria.
•1932 Corbusier participated in the competition of ideas for the Exhibition of International Arts and techniques. He attended conferences in Stockholm, Oslo, Goteborg, Antwerp, Algiers and Barcelona.
•1933 He joined as the honorary doctor of the Power Faculty in Zurich. Corbusier in collaboration with CIAM put his knowledge and experiences, in his publication Charter of Athens, based on the guiding principles for urban development. The CIAM IV was set up in Athens.
•1934 He visited the factory of Fiat in Turin and traveled to Rome, Milan, Algiers, and Barcelona to conduct conferences.
•1935 Corbusier published two works, Aircrafts and The Radiant City. He attended a series of conferences in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Madison and Hartford. His apartment showcased the Exhibition of Primitive Art by Louis Carré.
•1936 Corbusier set the rules for the future by preparing the draft for the ministry of education in Rio de Janeiro. Le Corbusier made his Mardew attempt at using the element of protection against the sun for the organization of the facade. He started studying the stadiums and stages of 1,00,000 places in Paris.
•1937 He was honored as the Chevalier of the Legion. He conferred in Brussels and Lyon. He published an interesting paper on "When Cathedrals were White."
•1938 Corbusier exhibited his paintings in Kunsthaus of Zurich.
•1939 Corbusier earned the Diploma of Foreign Member of the Royal Academy of Stockholm. He published fine act of The Lyric of New Times, Town Planning and the review of Le Point.
•1940 Corbusier departed for Ozon in Pyreneer with his wife Yuonne and Pierre Jeanneret, his cousin and business partner.
•1941 He published the Fate of Paris and On Four Roads.
•1942 Corbusier laid the foundation of ASCORAL assembled by Builders for an architectural renovation. He published The House of the Men with F de Pierrefeu and Constructions Murondins.
•1943 At the beginning of the collaboration with Joseph Savina, he wrote on how to Maintain with the Students of the School of Architecture.
•1945 Corbusier went aboard the liberty ship Vernon S. Hood where he held a meeting with Eugene Claudius Petit. He settled to study Modular Systems and released the paper Three Human Establishments.
•1946 Corbusier the ‘visionary’ met Albert Einstein the ‘brain’.
•1947 Corbusier was appointed as the expert with the committee for the construction of Palace of United Nations. He held conferences based on the Modular System. CIAM VI was founded in Bridgewater. He held conferences in Bogota and exhibited his works in Vienna.
•1948 Several exhibitions in the United States had the honor of showcasing his work. The VII th CIAM was set up in Bergame.
•1949 This year saw the beginning of the collaboration with Pierre Baudouin for the execution of tapestries. He visited the Unity House of Marseille with Jean Pierre Aumont.
•1950 Corbusier conceived the idea for Ronchamp’s Chapel and prepared the first sketches for it. He was named by the Government Councilor of Punjab for the realization of the new capital of the state. His idea of modular designing was condensed in the form of a publication Modular 1. He wrote Poetry on Algiers and constructed the world famous Small House in Cap Martin.
•1951 Corbusier made his first trip to India. The VIIIth CIAM was founded in Hoddesdon. His love for sculpting made him stay in New York and work with Constantino Nivola on sculptures of sand and murals. His works were displayed in an exhibition in the Museum of Modern Art. In India, he presented The Opened Hand monument in Chandigarh. He started studying for Chandigarh’s projects – Assembled High Court, Palace of the Governor, Secretariat and Museum.
•1952 He was promoted as the Commander of the Legion of Honors. Corbusier traveled to India for his projects.
•1953 Le Corbusier was appointed to the Committee of five with Gropius, Breuer, Markelius and Rogers to steer the draft of the UNESCO in Paris.
•1954 The IXth CIAM was inaugurated in Province. Le Corbusier tried his hand at plastics and contributed his work as part of the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, Bern and Come. He published A Small House, which was very unlikely, because his designs were synonymous with ‘big’.
•1955 Corbusier contributed as honorary doctor of the Federal Ecole polytechnic of Zurich. The Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the High Court of Justice in India. He constructed the Bhakra Dam, which stands proof of his good work. He penned Poems of the Right angle, Modular 2 and Architecture of Happiness – Town planning is the key.
•1956 Corbusier refused to teach at the Art College. The works of art designed by him were put up in the Exhibition in Lyon.
•1957 Le Corbusier’s wife Yvonne left for heavenly abode on October 5. Le took part in the exhibition, which was in retrospective, named as Ten Capitals. It was organized by W. Boersiger in Zurich, Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Vienne, The Hague, Paris etc. The other exhibition in his hometown at the Museum of the Beautiful Arts of Chaux-de-Fonds proudly showcased his work and honored him with the privilege of the citizen of Chaux-de-Fonds city. He also earned the titles of Member of the Royal Academy of the Beautiful Arts of Copenhagen and Commander of the Arts and Letters.
•1958 Le Corbusier was awarded the diploma of Litteris et Artibus by Sweden on September 12, the Diploma of Honor of the World and International Fair of Brussels. His creation of the Electronic Poem in association with Edgar Varèse won him great fame.
1959 He played the role of honorary doctor of Cambridge University. He took active part in the international campaign for the classification in conformance with monument Historique of the villa Savoye.
1960 Le Corbusier lost his mother Marie Charlotte Amelie Jeanneret-Pirret at the age of 101. He organized an exhibition in Sorborne. His research was condensed as the publication of The Workshop of the Patient Search.
•1961 Le Corbusier took up the responsibility of the honorary doctor of the University of Columbia. He was made the commander of the order of the Merit. Corbusier won the Golden Medal of the American Institute of the Architects. He executed seven drawings for the tapestries of Chandigarh’s high court. One of his tapestry designs inspired from Hands was utilized in the service of dishes for the Restaurant Plum Tree in London. He participated in exhibitions in Zurich and Stockholm. Orsay – Paris 1961 was a culmination of all his travels in and around Paris.
•1962 Corbusier traveled to Brazil to study the establishment of the Embassy of France in Brasilia. His design, of Chandigarh’s assembly was inaugurated.
•1963 Corbusier’s works won him the Gold Medal of the Town of Florence, the prestigious post of the Grand officer of the Legion of Honor and the post of honorary doctor of the University of Geneva. The grand finale of his works was seen at the Corbusier center in Zurich. He also organized the exhibition at the Palace Strozzi in Florence.
•1964 Corbusier got the order for designing the hospital of Venice. His efforts showcased the works of designers in an exhibition organized in Chaux-de-Fonds in Zurich by Corbusier.
•1965 Corbusier resumed his study of the monument of the Opened Hand for Chandigarh. His studies resulted in a Diploma of the Company of Architecture of Boston. His last publication Texts and drawings for Ronchamp reflected his insight and experience. The Stage of Firming was his last project after which none of his ideas came to light because he died bathing in the Mediterranean Sea on August 27.
On September 1, officials in the Square Court of Louvre buried him in the cemetery of Cap Martin.
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We must start again from zero.
He believed that architecture had lost its way. Art Nouveau and the Art Deco Style had sinuous decorations and threatened the industrial age, which Corbusier believed that the new age deserved.
A house is a machine for living in.
This makes him sound like a technician, but he was anything but that. He admired ocean liners and his architecture spoke of sun, wind and the sea.
Modern town planning comes to birth with a new architecture. By this immense step in evolution so brutal and so overwhelming, we burn our bridges and break with the past.
Le Corbusier, on his role as a city planner.
