Le Corbusier Flashcards
Discuss Corbusier and Urbanism.
Corbusier is often commended for his innovative ideas about the modern house, but condemned for his idea on the city.
His work on the city is polemical, its an argument against what he would describe as conservative forces in society.
his ideas about the new city were highly influential and provided a rational framework for thinking about organisation of modern cities and city development.
What was L’Esprit Nouveau?
It was part of Vers Une Architecture (1923)
The L’Esprit Nouveau was a literary and artistic journal.
It advocated the use of modern industrial techniques and strategies to transform society into a more efficient environment with a higher standard of living on all socioeconomic levels.
Corbusier evolved the all embracing machine aesthetic of purism/
What famous text did Corbusier Write in 1923?
Vers Une Architecture (Towards a New Architecture)
this text articulated the conceptual duality around which the rest of his work was to be based and fully expressed his ideas in architecture.
Highlighted the 5 points of architecture
He stipulated that the house was a machine for living in .
the plan proceeds from within to without - the exterior is the result of an interior.
Creation of the mass production spirit. The spirit of constructing mass production housing. The spirit of living in mass production houses. the spirit of cenceiving mass production houses.
What was Ville Contemporaine?
Contemporary City for 3 Million
It was for 3 million and was the ultimate demonstration of this aspect in his work up to 1922.
Corb projeced Ville Contemporaine as a capitalist city of administration in control with garden cities for the workers being sited along with the industry.
The most important contribution was the Immeuble-Villa - an adaption of the Maison Citrohan - as a general type for high rise, high density living.
What was Ville Radieuse?
The Radiant City
Designed to be a wall less ‘open city’
a dense city elevated above the surface of a continuous park.
In favour of a building form more suited to mass production.
Raised on pilotis to create a continuous open park at the bottom of the buildings.
Optimised space in apartment blocks for economical reasons.
Parallel bands and zones rather than being designed around a center.
Discuss the importance of Maison Dom-Ino?
1915
It was designed as a building prototype for mass production
The layout of the plan is completely different from the structural system providing endless variations in the arrangement of the interiors.
Skeleton consists of free standing pillars and rigid floors.
What was Plan Voisin?
Paris 1925.
an attempt to reorganise Paris in dealing with the historic city.
designed on the notion that the automobile having effectively destroyed the great city, could now be exploited as the instrument of its salvation.
The success of the city was through to lie in the speed of the city
proposed to bulldoze most of Central Paris, and replace it with sixty storey cruciform towers from the Contemporary City
What City did Corbusier help design in reality?
Chandigarh. 1965
conceived as post-war ‘garden city’ wherein vertical and highrise buildings were urled out, keeping in view the socio economic conditions and living habits of the people.
designed in sectors/zones (500,000)
It was the symbol of New India and epitomised the idea of the modern industrial state
What was the City of tomorrow?
Buildings will house businesses, with food and retail establishments on ground level.
Residential buildings will have hanging gardens and look onto parkland.
The plan is generally geometrical in layout and concept
