12 Questions
What was Le Corbusier's main preoccupation?
Transforming the environment with ideal geometry
How is Le Corbusier described as a person?
Both an obsessively orderly man and a creative genius
What is the divide regarding Le Corbusier's work?
Architects love his work while city planners despise it
What criticism is leveled at Le Corbusier's ideas?
They were based on flawed premises about building cities
How is Le Corbusier described professionally?
He built, wrote, and painted
What phrase is used to describe Le Corbusier's character?
Polarizing at the core
What was Le Corbusier's primary focus when designing buildings and cities?
Following universal principles of geometry for harmony
How did Le Corbusier view the shape of Paris?
As an interplay between urban energy and imposed order
According to Le Corbusier, what was the advantage of high-rise buildings?
They allowed for higher population densities on a small land area
What was Le Corbusier's view on traditional streets in modern cities?
They were obsolete and needed to be replaced with new transportation channels
What did Le Corbusier's ideal city plan of 1922 include?
A business center with 24 identical 60-story skyscrapers
How did Le Corbusier view architects who preferred complicated sites?
He believed they lacked original ideas and let the site dictate the design
Study Notes
Le Corbusier's Philosophy and Career
- Le Corbusier was a true Renaissance man: he built, wrote, and painted, and had strong opinions on designing the planet at all scales, from chairs to metropolises.
- He was a polarizing figure, an obsessively orderly person with a creative genius, often described as authoritarian and egomaniacal.
Ideal Geometry and Urban Planning
- Le Corbusier believed in the redemptive power of ideal geometry, where a well-designed plan according to universal geometric principles would bring harmony and balance.
- He engaged with diametrically opposite political regimes, as his focus was on realizing the plan, not the politics.
- In his ideal city, the plan would prevail, and everything else was secondary.
Life in Paris
- Le Corbusier moved to Paris in his 30s and lived there for the rest of his life, where the city's shape defined and refined him.
- The city's interplay between exuberant energy and tradition of imposing order in the urban fabric fascinated him.
Technological Innovation and Design
- Le Corbusier's designs often took new technological innovations to their extreme logical conclusion, with style.
- He believed high-rise buildings could multiply a site's capacity, freeing land for green parks.
- Mechanical transportation made traditional streets obsolete, and modern towns should be built around new channels of transportation.
Iconic Plans and the Athens Charter
- From 1922 to 1933, Le Corbusier developed his ideas through three iconic plans, culminating in the Athens Charter, a manifesto on building a good city.
- In 1922, he presented a plan for a contemporary city of 3 million inhabitants, built on a clean slate, with a business center featuring 24 identical 60-story skyscrapers.
Test your knowledge on the famous architect Le Corbusier and his architectural works. Explore his design principles, influences, and impact on the field of architecture.
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