Le Corbusier

Charles-Edouard Jeanneret was born in 1887 in La-Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. He studied classical architecture during several voyages. He discovered the solid bases of classical architecture, but was also curious to explore other cultures. Throughout his career, he continually mixed heritage and modernity.

His buildings are found in twelve countries and four continents.
After a career lasting sixty years, he died accidentally on 27 August 1965.

His work is now considered as the international emblem of the Modern Movement in architecture. It provided new solutions:

• inventing a new architectural language: architecture that gives way to light
• modernising architectural techniques and technology: architecture that develops upwards
• meeting the social and personal needs of modern people: functional spaces

At a very early stage, the architect developed the principles of five key points for a new architecture:

• a building raised on pilotis pile stilts,
• a self-supporting structural framework formed by columns and beams,
• glazed external walls,
• a flexible open plan (without load-bearing walls) that can be adapted according to the building’s functions and their changes,
• a terrace roof that acts as a roof garden.

Le Corbusier combined the organisation of space with the use of carefully chosen colours, which reflect his main lines of thought:

• green: to adapt architecture to its environment and remain continually in touch with nature,
• yellow: architecture that develops with light,
• blue: constant contact with the space,
• red: Man is the driving force of his creation.

His most emblematic works include:

• Villa Stotzer (La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland, 1907)
• Villa Savoye (Poissy, France, 1928)
• Cité Radieuse (Marseille, France, 1945-1952)
• National Museum of Western Art (Tokyo, Japan, 1957)
• Chapel of Notre-Dame du Haut (Ronchamp, France, 1950-1955)
• Palace of Assembly (Chandigarh, India, 1955)

Le Modulor (contraction de « module » et « nombre d’or »), notion architecturale inventée par Le Corbusier pour adapter les proportions de ses unités d’habitation à la morphologie humaine.