Le Corbusier: 5 Facts to Know (original) (raw)
Both architect and artist, Le Corbusier left behind a body of work that still resonates today. Here are five lesser known factoids about his immense career.
Le Corbusier, whose real name was Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris (1887-1965), was an architect, urban planner, decorator, painter, sculptor and writer. In short, a Renaissance man, who, besides architecture, influenced several areas of artistry. Though his project for the city of Chandigarh, the concept of the housing unit, and fruitful collaborations with Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand, here are 5 lesser known facts about his work and his life.
Le Corbusier in Chandigarh, 1951. Photo Public domain
1. His pseudonym comes from his ancestors
The surname 'Le Corbésier' (in Walloon, the one who makes delicate Cordoba leather shoes for women and children) originated with his great-grandmother Caroline Lecorbésier, who was from Walloon Brabant in Belgium. The name influenced some of his pen names, notably those used in the writing of the review L'Esprit Nouveau, which he ran with Amédée Ozenfant.
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Recalling his decision to take a pseudonym, Le Corbusier said in an interview, “If we have to talk about architecture, I want to do it, but I don't want to do it under the name of Jeanneret. I said “I will take the name of… of a great… of a maternal ancestor, Le Corbusier [sic] and I will sign my architectural articles Le Corbusier."
2. The 'Dom-ino' design was his solution to WWI damages
He developed the 'Dom-ino' house, a type of modular construction imagined at the outbreak of the First World War. As it was believed that the destruction due to the conflict would last only a few months, architects were called in to help rebuild the cities very quickly. In 1914, Le Corbusier introduced the 'Dom-ino' housing prototype, a name referring to domus (Latin for house) and the pieces of the domino game, because the units of houses could be lined up like dominoes.
Model of the 'Dom-ino' structure by Le Corbusier, created in 1914 in the context of world war. Photo by Sailko / CC BY 3.0 Licence
The concept was based on the standardization of living elements, where the notions of rooms and corridor disappear, replaced by those of function and horizontal circulation. The idea was that in times of crisis, each individual could be able to lay their foundations, and then a company would sell the framework. Thus, dwellers would be able to fill in the voids using materials they found locally, creating a quick and inexpensive solution.
3. He appears on stamps and banknotes
The portrait of Le Corbusier appears on the 10 Swiss francs banknote that came into circulation on April 8, 1997. He appears in close-up, lifting his dark glasses with the large round lenses on his forehead, while geometric shapes suggesting his buildings cover the back.
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Ten years earlier, in 1987, he or his works appeared on stamps issued in France, Switzerland and Monaco.
4. He worked with more than 200 collaborators
In his studio on rue de Sèvres in Paris, Le Coursier welcomed more than 200 direct collaborators from 1922 to 1965. Often, he surrounded himself with architecture students, who rarely worked for him beyond six months. However, he did have permanent partners, as well as long-term employees who worked on certain projects. Among his most famous collaborators are Oscar Niemeryer, Jean Prouvé, Lucio Costa, Jean de Maisonseul and, of course, Charlotte Perriand.
Pierre Jeanneret and Le Corbusier in Chandigarh, between 1950 and 1957. Photo public domain
His cousin Pierre Jeanneret also played a major role in his career. Jeanneret often drew the first sketches of plans and, with Le Corbusier, retouched and refined them. With Jeanneret, Le Corbusier undertook the major project of planning the city of Chandigarh, India, for which Jeanneret designed the furnishings.
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In 1926, they jointly published a manifesto called Cinq Points vers une Nouvelle Architecture, a work that outlined their architectural aesthetic.
5. His organized schedule was the key to his extensive production.
Le Corbusier produced around 450 paintings, many of them in large format, including more than 7,000 works on paper, 350 prints, several dozen enamels and many tapestries, with the help of Pierre Baudouin and sculptures in collaboration with Joseph Savina.
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One day questioned about his abundant production, he simply replied that his schedule was the key. The morning, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., was reserved for his personal production. He even described the morning as “the first free time for pictorial creation and drawing." Architecture and urban planning occupied him in the afternoon, while the evening was conducive to writing.
Le Corbusier's works are highly sought after on the auction market. They are collected all over the world and in particular Switzerland, his country of origin. His pieces of furniture and his lighting, which regularly feature in design sales, are as popular as his gouaches and his paintings, which can sell for several millions.