9.3 Le Corbusier's works

Le Corbusier, a pioneer of modern architecture, revolutionized design with innovative principles like pilotis, free facades, and open floor plans. His iconic buildings, including Villa Savoye and Unité d'Habitation, exemplify his vision for functional, geometric structures that blend with nature.

Le Corbusier's influence extended beyond individual buildings to urban planning. His concepts like the Contemporary City for Three Million and Chandigarh master plan shaped modernist city design. His work inspired Brutalist architecture and continues to impact urban development worldwide.

Influences on Le Corbusier's style

• Le Corbusier's style was heavily influenced by his travels, particularly his visits to the Parthenon in Greece and the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, which inspired his use of pure geometric forms and the interplay of light and shadow
• He was also influenced by the industrial revolution and the advent of new materials like reinforced concrete and steel, which allowed for greater flexibility in design and construction
• Le Corbusier's background in painting and sculpture informed his approach to architecture, leading him to prioritize form, composition, and the aesthetic experience of a building

Key principles of Le Corbusier's designs

Pilotis for open ground floor

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  Villa Savoye, Le Corbusier, Poissy | Timothy Brown | Flickr View original

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  Villa Savoye (Le Corbusier) - Poissy {april 2014} | Esther Westerveld | Flickr View original

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  Villa Savoye - Le Corbusier | Studietur Paris 2015 | August Fischer | Flickr View original

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  Villa Savoye, Le Corbusier, Poissy | Timothy Brown | Flickr View original

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• Pilotis are slender columns that raise a building above the ground, allowing for an open ground floor that can be used for circulation, parking, or outdoor spaces
• This design principle creates a sense of lightness and transparency, as well as a connection between the building and its surroundings
• Examples of buildings that feature pilotis include the Villa Savoye and the Unité d'Habitation in Marseille

Free facade design

• Le Corbusier believed that the facade of a building should be independent of its structural system, allowing for greater flexibility in the placement of windows and doors
• This principle enables the creation of more open and fluid interior spaces, as well as the ability to adapt the facade to the specific needs of the building's occupants
• The Villa Savoye and the Unité d'Habitation both showcase Le Corbusier's use of free facade design

Open floor plans

• Le Corbusier advocated for open floor plans that allow for flexibility and adaptability in the use of interior spaces
• By minimizing the use of interior walls and partitions, open floor plans create a sense of spaciousness and flow, as well as the ability to easily reconfigure spaces as needed
• The Villa Savoye and the Unité d'Habitation are prime examples of Le Corbusier's use of open floor plans

Ribbon windows for light

• Ribbon windows are horizontal bands of windows that run the length of a building's facade, providing ample natural light and views to the outside
• This design principle helps to create bright and airy interior spaces, as well as a strong visual connection between the building and its surroundings
• Le Corbusier used ribbon windows extensively in his designs, including in the Villa Savoye and the Unité d'Habitation

Roof gardens as outdoor spaces

• Le Corbusier believed that the roof of a building should be used as an outdoor living space, with gardens, terraces, and other amenities
• Roof gardens provide additional usable space for building occupants, as well as a connection to nature and the outdoors
• Examples of Le Corbusier buildings with roof gardens include the Villa Savoye and the Unité d'Habitation

Iconic Le Corbusier buildings

Villa Savoye

• The Villa Savoye is a modernist villa located in Poissy, France, designed by Le Corbusier in 1929
• It exemplifies many of Le Corbusier's key design principles, including pilotis, free facade design, open floor plans, ribbon windows, and a roof garden
• The villa's pure geometric forms and white exterior have made it an icon of modernist architecture

Notre Dame du Haut

• Notre Dame du Haut is a Catholic chapel located in Ronchamp, France, designed by Le Corbusier in the early 1950s
• The chapel features a sculptural concrete roof that seems to float above the walls, creating a dramatic interplay of light and shadow in the interior
• The building's organic forms and rough concrete surfaces marked a departure from Le Corbusier's earlier, more geometric style

Unité d'Habitation

• The Unité d'Habitation is a modernist residential housing project located in Marseille, France, designed by Le Corbusier in the late 1940s
• The building features 337 duplex apartments arranged around a central corridor, with communal spaces and amenities located on the roof
• The Unité d'Habitation exemplifies Le Corbusier's vision for a "vertical garden city" that combines high-density housing with ample green space and communal facilities

Villa Jeanneret and Villa La Roche

• The Villa Jeanneret and Villa La Roche are a pair of semi-detached houses located in Paris, France, designed by Le Corbusier in the early 1920s
• The villas showcase Le Corbusier's early experimentation with modernist forms and materials, including reinforced concrete and strip windows
• The Villa La Roche also features a double-height art gallery space, reflecting the client's passion for art collecting

Cité Radieuse in Marseille

• The Cité Radieuse is a modernist residential complex located in Marseille, France, designed by Le Corbusier in the early 1950s
• The building features 337 apartments, as well as a variety of communal spaces and amenities, including a rooftop terrace, a nursery school, and a shopping street
• The Cité Radieuse is an iconic example of Le Corbusier's vision for a self-contained "vertical city" that combines high-density housing with a range of community services and facilities

Le Corbusier's urban planning concepts

Contemporary City for Three Million

• The Contemporary City for Three Million was an urban planning concept developed by Le Corbusier in the early 1920s
• The plan envisioned a city organized around a central business district, with high-density housing blocks arranged in a grid pattern and surrounded by green space
• The concept was never fully realized, but it had a significant influence on later modernist urban planning projects

Ville Radieuse vs Cité Radieuse

• The Ville Radieuse (Radiant City) was an urban planning concept developed by Le Corbusier in the 1930s, which envisioned a city organized around a central axis, with high-density housing blocks arranged in a linear pattern and surrounded by green space
• The Cité Radieuse (Radiant City) was a later iteration of this concept, which was realized in the form of the Unité d'Habitation in Marseille and other similar projects
• While the Ville Radieuse remained a theoretical concept, the Cité Radieuse represented a more practical application of Le Corbusier's urban planning principles

Chandigarh master plan

• Chandigarh is a planned city located in northern India, designed by Le Corbusier in the 1950s
• The city's master plan is based on a grid system, with the Capitol Complex at its heart and residential sectors arranged around it
• The plan incorporates many of Le Corbusier's key urban planning principles, including the separation of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, the integration of green space, and the use of standardized housing units

Le Corbusier's influence on Modernism

Inspiration for Brutalist architecture

• Le Corbusier's later works, particularly his use of raw concrete and sculptural forms, had a significant influence on the development of Brutalist architecture in the 1950s and 60s
• Brutalist architects such as Alison and Peter Smithson and Paul Rudolph were inspired by Le Corbusier's emphasis on the expressive potential of concrete and the idea of architecture as sculpture
• Examples of Brutalist buildings that show Le Corbusier's influence include the Hunstanton School in Norfolk, England and the Yale Art and Architecture Building in New Haven, Connecticut

Impact on urban planning

• Le Corbusier's urban planning concepts, particularly the Contemporary City for Three Million and the Ville Radieuse, had a significant impact on the development of modernist urban planning in the mid-20th century
• His ideas about the separation of functions, the use of high-density housing blocks, and the integration of green space were widely adopted by urban planners and architects around the world
• Examples of modernist urban planning projects that show Le Corbusier's influence include Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, and Chandigarh, the capital of the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana

Lasting legacy of Le Corbusier's works

• Le Corbusier's works continue to be widely studied and admired by architects and scholars around the world
• His emphasis on the social and political dimensions of architecture, as well as his innovative use of materials and forms, have had a lasting impact on the field
• Many of his buildings, including the Villa Savoye, the Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut, and the Unité d'Habitation, are now considered masterpieces of modernist architecture and are protected as historic landmarks
• Le Corbusier's legacy also includes his extensive writings on architecture and urban planning, which continue to be influential and widely read today