In 1923, in his book Vers une architecture (Towards a New Architecture), architect and designer Le Corbusier declared houses to be “machines for living in.” While this phrase speaks to his belief that good design should be functional, Le Corbusier was equally invested in marrying utilitarianism with “poetry, beauty, and harmony.” Rejecting earlier movements like Art Nouveau for their celebration of ornament, historical nostalgia, and lack of functionality, he embraced the work of American engineers—in the form of machines, factory complexes, and grain silos—as a foundation for a new, modern architectural language. Charles-Edouard Jeanneret adopted the name “Le Corbusier” (derived from a family surname, Lecorbésier) for his architectural persona in 1920. A prolific writer and lecturer, he founded the influential magazine L’Esprit nouveau with French painter Amédée Ozenfant and Belgian writer Paul Dermée in 1919. In the journal’s first several issues, Le Corbusier articulated his thoughts about “volume,” “surface,” and “plan,” which he considered the central components of modern architecture and urban planning. He republished these essays in Vers une architecture, in which he also famously described the "five points of architecture”: pilotis (reinforced-concrete columns), the free plan, the free facade, horizontal bands of windows, and the roof garden.
Les Mains (The Hands)
carved wood
1950s
Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret)
(1887-1965)
French Swiss
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