Le Corbusier is arguably the most influential architect of the modern movement. His treatise, Toward a New Architecture, is a must read for architects. In it he outlines his five points of architecture: 1. Pilotis 2. Free Facade 3. Open Floor Plan 4. Ribbon Windows 5. Roof Garden. Pilotis are columns that raise the building off the ground. This structural system derives from his famous domino house diagram, a structural system of columns and floor plates. This structural system allows his next three points to be possible. With out any structure within the facade, it allows for a curtain wall that is free of constraints and can be designed in whichever way the architect chooses, including ribbon windows (his fourth point). Ribbon windows are more of a style point, but do allow for large vistas. Finally this structural system allows the plan to be free of load bearing walls and the only limits to an completely open space is the columns and any partitions the architect might choose to include.
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| Dom-ino House |
His fifth point is the roof as a garden. This idea we see pervading architecture today with green roofs. Le Corbusier's idea is certainly the inspiration for such garden although the ones he designed were much less than grass and flower covered spaces. They were more sculptural and concrete with only planters. Yet the idea is one that lives on today. The prime example of his five points is Villa Savoye just outside of Paris, France. The building is elevated on pilotis with an entrance and carport on the first floor. The ribbon windows, free facade, and roof garden. The house has both an open and flowing plan, with curvilinear partitions and large open spaces.
Corbusier had an affinity for the machine aesthetic. A functional aesthetic which he saw in the design of ships, airplanes and cars. "The engineer, inspired by the law of Economy and governed by mathematical calculation, puts us in accord with universal law. He achieves harmony." If the engineer's job is harmony, then the architect's is order. Corbu poses that the architect must learn from the law of Economy and combine it with his skills in order. After this combination, "we shall arrive at the 'House-Machine,' the mass-production house, healthy (and morally so too) and beautiful in the same way that the working tools and instruments which accompany our existence are beautiful." He mirrored the Bauhaus and Mies Van Der Rohe in their strive for the modern aesthetic, where everything is both functional and beautiful.
Le Corbusier's work is certainly both influential and beautiful. His ideas continue to inspire architects to this day, but read this book with a grain of salt. While his ideas were forward thinking, many were proved false. Le Corbusier designed many of his buildings and ideas with the hope to achieve social change through architecture. Unfortunately while many of his buildings are aesthetically pleasing, they do not function, like the Unite d'Habitation. Even worse are his ideas on urbanism. Through the end of his career he became more and more interested in the planning of cities. He saw the future as being dominated by the car and in an attempt to prevent the unsavory conditions of the dense and increasingly clogged cities like New York, London, and Paris; he presented a city of massive towers spread out in a greenscape and connected by high-speed motor ways. The prime example is Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. He was able to design and build the entire city according to his ideas, but in the end, the immensity of the spaced out buildings destroys any sense of community and the apartments are considered lifeless with their typical white walls.
Ultimately, Le Corbusier was a genius and an entrepreneur. Many of his ideas thrive today and his works are as relevant now as they were in the World War II era. Every architect should take time to become acquainted with his theory and if approached with a critical eye, they will learn many of the important ideas that have shaped our built environment for the past many decades.
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| Le Corbusier with his awesome glasses 10/6/1887 - 8/271965 |
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