Le Corbusier's Buildings - Coursework Example

TITLE: NAME: INSTITUTION: Le Corbusier was born in the small town in Switzerland called La Chaux-de-Fonds. His original name was Charles-douard Jeanneret-Gris before converting to Le Corbusier. Known as one of the greatest architecture of the 20th century, Le Corbusier lived between the years 1887, and 1965. Le Corbusier is known to have identified himself by altering the names of his maternal grandfather and asserting it as his penname. Le Corbusier was the second male child to Edouard Jeanneret and Madame Jeannerct-Perrct (La, 2008). His father was a casual laborer at a watch making company while the mother was a renowned piano and music teacher. Le Corbusier School’s life started at the age of 13, after joining towns Art School. During his stay here, he learned a little bit of artistic works such as drawing and enameling. However, Le Corbusier’s teacher saw a young boy with architectural potential hence started encouraging to study architecture in addition (In Williams and In Ostwald, 2014). As a gifted architect and aggressive writer, Le Corbusier could also stood out as prolific urban planner and talented artist who influenced the world and the people around it, thereby forming a formidable force of architecture techniques that are used to date. One of the characteristics of Le Corbusier’s constructions is that they were produced using both reinforced concrete and steel. This was coupled by the use of fundamental geometric forms while undertaking construction of buildings, which was a greater attributes to his works. These handy architectural works have both logical structures and forms (Le and Le, 2008). Le Corbusier books contains his introduction of the five points of architecture which were arranged systematically. The work was a source of incredible pieces of architecture that are still used in the contemporary constructions. His invention of a scale of proportions known as the ‘Modulor’ is recognizable as well. The Modulor is well known to be the foundation of the golden ratio and individual measurements. Le Corbusier concepts and works are used and appreciated all over the world. In addition to being an urban planner, sometimes he focused his works for a betterment of the crowded cities hence improving living standards (Flint, 2014). Trained as an artist, Le Corbusier was able to travel to many countries and most specifically through Germany and the Middle East. Notably, he found home in Paris, where he was a good student to Auguste Perret thereby engrossing himself in the cultural and artistic life of the city (La, 2008). It is worth noting that his stay in Paris intensified the interest to study and synthesize variety of arts. Le Corbusier was also involved in various local projects and even designing his first house in the year 1907. In order to develop his skills further, Le Corbusier later chose to travel to different places such as Italy, Munich, and Vienna. While in these areas, he learned through apprenticeships from people such as Peter Behrens and Auguste Perret. These were renowned architects and structuralisms. One of the works attributed to Le Corbusier is the administrative buildings found in, India in the 1950s, in the then-newly formed Union Territory of Chandigarh as shown below (Samuel and Le, 2004) Le Corbusier is also attributed to finding the Fibonacci series. This, together with the golden ratio and other architectural concepts, were some of the vital components that formed the foundation of the Modulor. In 1912, having toured most part of the world, Le Corbusier decided it was time to come back to the city of birth and become a teach. In the process, he started to design the villas and to implement some of the architectural skills learned (Flint, 2004). Thing took center stage in 1922 when Le Corbusier’s ideas started to take physical form. For instance houses that he created as "a machine for living in" as a show of his beliefs on his trademark 5-points of architecture. However, During World War II, Le Corbusier was constructively unproductive since all he managed to do was to undertake some theories on his ultimate ideals. As a result, after the WWII, he began his Unite habitation. The picture below shows some of his works after the WWII. The works were characterized by highly colored walls and sculptural roof-lines. (La,2008). Le Corbusier's buildings after the WWII started going contrary to his earlier modern forms and instead were characterized by use of local materials, brute concrete and articulated structure. For instance, he designed many buildings in India, using sculptural forms and hard materials. This was not the usual early methods used. In these buildings, Le Corbusier introduced the recessed structural column, in addition to the moving staircase. It is worth noting that he also reintroduced the single flat plane of his important five points of architecture (In Borden et al, 2014). Though he did not get international award, his works are internationally appreciated. Le Corbusier's early work has a particular relation with nature, but the maturity of his ideas was revealed when he started developing Maison-Domino. Maison-Domino represented a model of a basic building that can be used for mass production with free-standing pillars and hard floors. Apart from being an architecture, Le Corbusier was also a writer. He wrote books such as the Vers Une Architecture, ‘Apres less cubisme’-that focused on a new anti-cubism artistic movement called, ‘Purism’. Later, together with Paul Dermee, Le Corbusier published a journal that focused on purist art titled, ‘L’Esprit Nouveau’ (Cohen et al, 2014). In additional to writing, Le Corbusier also designed furniture. However, his main focus was in architecture and planning. Through architectural concepts, he developed several urban plans and designs based on his views on urbanism (Higgott and Wray 2012). For example, in Le Corbusier’s description of Stockholm, he only sees frightening chaos and saddening monotony as opposed to classically rendered city. In this regards, Le Corbusier dreams of “cleaning and purging” the city with “a calm and powerful architecture”. That is; developing a city with steel, plate glass and reinforced concrete. To many people, this might s a modern blight practical to the beautiful city (Weber, 2008). Among his celebrated works is the Villa Savoye in the French capital Paris, between 1929 and 1931 and this work of art is the finest example to clarify his famed five points of architecture. The Open Hand Monument that is the largest of all his works that are 28m high and designed to signify peace stands in Chandigarh, India. One cannot conclude without mentioning The Villa Jeanneret in Paris where the current location of Foundation Le Corbusier and archives are available is also his works. Le Corbusier was a family man who married a model, Yvonne Gallis in 1930. The couple remained till the death of Yvonne in 1957. On August 27, 1965, Le Corbusier passed away in the Mediterranean Sea when he went swimming against the advice of his doctor (Honour and Fleming, 2005). REFERENCE Cohen, J.-L., Benton, T., & Tittensor, J. (2014). Le Corbusier le grand. Flint, A. (2014). Modern man: The life of Le Corbusier, architect of tomorrow. Higgott, A., & Wray, T. (2012). Camera constructs: Photography, architecture and the modern city. Burlington: Ashgate Pub. Co. Honour, H., & Fleming, J. (2005). A world history of art. London: Laurence King. Huber, N. V., Moos, S. ., & Scheidegger, E. (2008). Chandigarh 1956: Le Corbusier und die Propagierung der architektonischen Moderne. Zürich: Scheidegger & Spiess. In Borden, I., In Fraser, M., & In Penner, B. (2014). Forty ways to think about architecture: Architectural history and theory today. In Williams, K., & In Ostwald, M. J. (2015). Architecture and mathematics from antiquity to the future: Volume II. La, M. J. (2008). The familiar and the unfamiliar in twentieth-century architecture. Urbana, Ill: University of Illinois Press. Le, C., & Le, C. (2008). Toward an architecture. London: F. Lincoln. Samuel, F., & Le, C. (2004). Le Corbusier: Architect and feminist. Chichester [u.a.: Wiley. Vogt, A. M. (2000). Le Corbusier, the noble savage: Toward an archaeology of modernism. Cambridge, Mass: MIT. Weber, N. F. (2008). Le Corbusier: A life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Read More