Le Corbusier (Charles Edouard Jeanneret-Gris) – a French architect of Swiss origin, one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century, whose life connected two centuries in the history of modern architecture, the creator of innovative structures in the spirit of modernism.
He was one of the first to use reinforced concrete frames, terrace roofs, large glazing surfaces on facades, open supports on the lower floors of buildings, and free floor plans in his buildings. Le Corbusier’s views, expressed in numerous books, as well as his constructions, had an exceptional influence on the entire practice of modern architecture.
While practicing as an architect, Le Corbusier also worked as an artist and writer. In painting, his name is associated with Amade Ozenfant, who belonged to the purism school, one of many movements that grew out of cubism. In 1920, Le Corbusier founded the magazine “L`Esprit Nouveau” (“The New Spirit”) with Ozenfant, for which he wrote a large number of articles in support of his architectural theories. These theories were developed by him from 1920 to 1925 and culminated in the concept of the ideal house as a “machine for living.” It was then that his pseudonym – “Le Corbusier” – first appeared.
Starting in 1922, Le Corbusier built several small structures in the vicinity of Paris in a completely new style in terms of plasticity, composition, and form.
Being a functionalist, Le Corbusier broke the connection with the forms and designs of historical, classical styles and discerned a new style of the 20th century, based on new engineering technologies in the construction of bridges and steamships, on modern materials (reinforced concrete, sheet glass, and synthetic materials), as well as on modern requirements such as urban planning and housing projects.
Le Corbusier formulated 5 points of departure for modern architecture: 1. A column supporting the dwelling and freeing the territory beneath it. 2. Continuous horizontal bands of windows. 3. Free interior planning. 4. Free composition of the facade, projected in front of the frame. 5. A garden on the flat roof. These principles were followed by many architects of the 20th century. Le Corbusier embodied these principles in the Villa Savoye (1928-1930) and in the so-called “Unité d’Habitation” – a 17-story residential building in Marseille (1947-1952). The building had a huge influence on the further development of architecture.
The most famous buildings created by Le Corbusier include the Palace of Nations in Geneva (1927-1928), the Swiss Pavilion of the student campus in Paris (1931-1932), the Notre-Dame-du-Haut chapel in Ronchamp, France (1950-1955), and the master plan for the city and ensemble of government buildings in Chandigarh, India (1952-1956). In Russia, the building of the Tsentrsoyuz on Myasnitskaya Street was built according to Le Corbusier’s project (1928–1933, with the participation of architect N.D. Kolly). He also owned one of the projects for the Palace of Councils. Among the constructions of Le Corbusier from the 1930s to the early 1940s are the buildings of the Salvation Army Center in Paris (1932–1933).
He was also a member of the group of architects developing the plan for the UN buildings in New York; the tall, glass building of the Secretariat is predominantly Le Corbusier’s design. His literary works include “Vers une architecture” (“Towards a New Architecture”, 1927), “La maison des homes” (“The House of Man”, 1942), and “Quand les cathédrales étaient blanches” (“When the Cathedrals Were White”, 1947). Le Corbusier died in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, on August 27, 1965.
