Le Corbusier - Life & Legacy

Posted 6th October 2013

Le Corbusier was born on the 6th October 1887 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. In his 77 years as an architect, designer and urban planner he accomplished a lot, such as the LC4 Chaise Longue, Villa Savoye building in France and the design of his Domino House.

 

At a young age Le Corbusier was attracted to design and visual arts. He studied at the local La-Chaux-de-Fonds Art School under the painter and architect Charles l’Eplattenier. By 1910 he was an apprentice at the studios of Peter Behrens in Berlin. Once he completed his apprenticeship he wished to teach and practice what he had learned, so he returned to his home country of Switzerland.

 

His first big innovative design after he returned was his Domino House which I mentioned above. This was drawn with the idea of having a house that used reinforced concrete supported by steel  pillars, which would remove the need for supporting walls that most buildings back then used and was an early conception of the open plan interior.

 

By 1917 he choose to leave Switzerland again and travelled to Paris, as this had one of the most vibrant and artistic cultures in the world. Through the 1920’s he produced many Architecture books, and his world famous journal ‘Lesprit Nouveau’. It was also during this period that he adopted his pseudonym Le Corbusier he was originally known as Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris. (It was popular among artists of the time to adopt a single name pseudonym).

 

In 1928 he and his contemporary collaborators Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand began designing furniture to go with his architecture pieces. This trio helped Le Corbusier to create some of his masterpieces like the LC6 Dining Table and his Grand comfort 2 seat sofa. As a fan of the French lifestyle and culture he also became a French national, meaning from 1930 onwards he had a dual nationality of French and Swiss.

 

His designs were created from his love of modern architecture and the idea of open plan buildings. This was shown through his architecture pieces and what he came up with to furnish them.

 

Le Corbusier died aged 77 on 27th August 1965 in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin in France.