LE CORBUSIER

Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris LE CORBUSIER

Name
Le Corbusier
Nationality Swiss / French
Birth date October 6, 1887(1887-10-06)
Birth place La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
Date of
August 27, 1965 (aged 77)
death
Place of
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France
death
•Le Corbusier was an architect, designer, urbanist, writer and also
painter, who is famous for his contributions to what now is called
Modern architecture.
•His career spanned 8 decades, with his buildings constructed
throughout central Europe, India, Russia, and one each in North and
South America. He was also an urban planner, painter, sculptor,
writer, and modern furniture designer.
•Died in the mediterranean
•Dad was watchmaker
•Grew up seeing the alps – adored cows right from his childhood
(inspiration for chandigarh secratariat)
•Self made architect
•
MODULAR THOERY
- Le Corbusier explicitly used the golden ratio in
his Modular system for the scale of architectural
proportion.
- Le Corbusier based the system on human
measurements, Fibonacci numbers, and the
double unit.
- He took Leonardo's suggestion of the golden
ratio in human proportions to an extreme: he
sectioned his model human body's height at the
navel with the two sections in golden ratio, then
subdivided those sections in golden ratio at the
knees and throat; he used these golden ratio
proportions in the
- Le Corbusier Modular
placed system.
systems of harmony and
proportion at the centre of his design philosophy,
and his faith in the mathematical order of the
universe was closely bound to the golden section
and the Fibonacci series
Le Corbusier's 1927 Villa Stein in
Garches exemplified the Modular
system's application. The villa's
rectangular ground plan, elevation,
and inner structure closely
approximate golden rectangles.
VILLA SAVOYE
 Situated at Poissy, outside of
Paris, it is one of the most
recognisable architectural
presentations of the
International Style.
 The Villa Savoye was designed
as a weekend country house
and is situated just outside of
the small village of Poissy in a
meadow which was originally
surrounded by trees.
 The polychromatic interior
contrasts with the primarily
white exterior.
 Vertical circulation is facilitated
by ramps as well as stairs.
 The house fell into ruin during
World War II but has since been
restored and is open for
viewing.
•The house was emblematic of Le
Corbusier work in that it addressed
“THE FIVE POINTS", his basic tenets of
a new aesthetic of architecture
constructed in reinforced concrete:
•The pilotis, or ground-level supporting
columns, elevate the building from the
damp earth allowing the garden to
flow beneath.
•A flat roof terrace reclaims the area of
the building site for domestic
purposes, including a garden area.
•The free plan, made possible by the
elimination of load-bearing walls,
consists of partitions placed where
they are needed without regard for
those on adjoining levels.
•Horizontal windows provide even
illumination and ventilation.
•The freely-designed facade,
 VILLA SAVOYE (1928 –
1931)

GROUND LEVEL PLAN UPPER LEVEL PLAN

•Austerely functional on the outside, its volume is
supported by pilotis above a large expanse of lawn.
•Direct access for cars, parked between the pilotis,
beneath the house.
•Once through the glass wall, visitors have two access
options – stairway and ramp.
•In Le Corbusier’s eyes, the stairway “separates” whereas
the ramp “links”.
•Ramp – stretches from the lawn to the sky, like a majestic
“architectural promenade”, extending from the entrance
through the apartment on the second floor to the roof
terrace.
•The dwelling is arranged in the form of an “L” that cleanly
separates the public areas from the bedrooms.
•Two-thirds of the living room – patio.
•Access to the three bedroom – via corridors isolating the
main bathroom.
PLANS, SECTIONS & ELEVATIONS
MILL OWNERS
ASSOCIATION
BUILDING
•The building is located on Ashram
Road, in the western part of the city,
overlooking the river Sabarmati in
Ahmedabad.
•A ceremonial ramp makes for a grand
approach into a triple height entrance
hall, open to the wind.
•Arrival is on the first floor, where (as
per the original design) the
executives’ offices and boardroom are
located.
•The ground floor houses the work-
spaces of the clerks and a separate,
single-story canteen at the rear.
•On the second floor of the Mill
Owners’ Building, the lobby is treated
as “an open space defined by harsh,
angular forms and the auditorium as
an enclosed space delineated by soft,
curvilinear forms …two contradictory
• On the third floor is a high, top-lit
auditorium with a roof canopy and a
curved, enclosing wall, in addition to a
generous lobby.
•The east and west facades are in the form
of sun breakers or brise-soleil, one of
Corbusier’s many formal inventions, which,
while avoiding harsh sun, permit visual
connection and air movement. While the
brise-soleil act as free facades made of
•rough
It’s a brilliant
shuttered display of classic
concrete, Corbusier,
the north and highlighting clean lines,
warm light and
south sides, bright
built spaces
in rough with hints
brickwork, areof colour against the textured
concrete.
almost unbroken.
mill owners association
ahmedabad

ramp and
staircases
VIEWS OF THE BUILDING PREMISES
•The toilets are two interlocking curves
with a service shaft in between which
grows up to the terrace.
•Its form and scale contradicts its
surrounding.
•Visual privacy is achieved by virtue of its
form.
•Entries are on opposite sides of the
curves.
•Ventilators are pulled out of the height
and emphasized.
 •Six shaped auditorium.
•Its naturally lit by skylights
which forms a gallery.
•View to the •Cladded by ply for better
Sabarmati. acoustics.
•Subtle transition
from the built to
unbuilt.

By way of explanation, Corbusier

placed these giant angled louvers on
the west side of the building in an
attempt to capture the prevailing
Second floor entry door,
wind, directing it through the with a large pivoted
building and thereby increasing orange door.
mill owners association
ahmedabad
mill owners association
ahmedabad
CHANDIGARH
•The idea of building Chandigarh was conceived soon after India's
chandigarh
independence in 1947, when the tragedy and chaos of Partition, and the
loss of its historic capital Lahore, had crippled the state of Punjab.
•A new city was needed to house innumerable refugees and to provide an
administrative seat for the newly formed government of re-defined
Punjab.
•Chandigarh was regarded as a unique symbol of the progressive
aspirations of the new republic and the ideology of its struggle for
independence.
•It aimed to provide a generous cultural and social infrastructure and
equitable opportunities for a dignified, healthy living even to the
"poorest of the poor".
•The near vacuum of indigenous expertise needed to realize this dream
prompted the search for Western skill.
• Yet, conscious of the specificities of their situation, the search was
narrowed to "...a good modern architect who was not severely bound by an
established style and who would be capable of developing a new conception
originating from the exigencies of the project itself and suited to the Indian
climate, available materials and the functions of the new capital.
•"The Chandigarh Project was, at first, assigned to the American planner
Albert Mayer, with his associate Matthew Nowicki working out architectural
Corbusier's plan of modern Chandigarh

•Taking over from Albert Mayer, Le Corbusier produced a plan for

Chandigarh that conformed to the modernist city planning principles,
in terms of division of urban functions, an anthropomorphic plan
form, and a hierarchy of road and pedestrian networks.
•This vision of Chandigarh, contained in the innumerable conceptual
maps on the drawing board together with notes and sketches had to
be translated into brick and mortar.
•Le Corbusier retained many of the seminal ideas of Mayer and
Nowicki, like the basic framework of the master plan and its
components: The Capitol, City Centre, besides the University,
Industrial area, and linear parkland.
• Even the neighbourhood unit was retained as the basic module of
planning. However, the curving outline of Mayer and Nowicki was
reorganized into a mesh of rectangles, and the buildings were
characterized by an "honesty of materials".
• Exposed brick and boulder stone masonry in its rough form
produced unfinished concrete surfaces, in geometrical structures.
 Le Corbusier on site

•The initial plan had two phases: the first for a population of 150,000
and the second taking the total population to 500,000. Le Corbusier
divided the city into units called "sectors", each representing a
theoretically self-sufficient entity with space for living, working and
leisure.
•The sectors were linked to each other by a road and path network
developed along the line of the 7 Vs, or a hierarchy of seven types of
circulation patterns. At the highest point in this network was the V1,
the highways connecting the city to others, and at the lowest were
the V7s, the streets leading to individual houses. Later a V8 was
•The city plan is laid down in a grid pattern. chandigarh
•The whole city has been divided into rectangular patterns,
forming identical looking sectors, each sector measures 800 m x
1200 m. The sectors were to act as self-sufficient
neighbourhoods, each wit
•h its own market, places of worship, schools and colleges - all
within 10 minutes walking distance from within the sector.
• The original two phases of the plan delineated sectors from 1 to
47, with the exception of 13 (Number 13 is considered unlucky).
•The Assembly, the secretariat and the high court, all located in
Sector - 1 are the three monumental buildings designed by Le
Corbusier in which he showcased his architectural genius to the
maximum.
•The city was to be surrounded by a 16 kilometre wide greenbelt
that was to ensure that no development could take place in the
immediate vicinity of the town, thus checking suburbs and urban
sprawl.
•While leaving the bulk of the city's architecture to other
members of his team, Le Corbusier took responsibility for the
overall master plan of the city, and the design of some of the
major public buildings including the High Court, Assembly,
Secretariat, the Museum and Art Gallery, School of Art and the
Lake Club.
Le Corbusier 's most prominent building, the Court House,
 Open hand
•Open hand in Chandigarh, India is
one of the most significant
monuments of the city.
•The credit for laying down its plan
goes to Le Corbusier.
•It is located in sector 1 in the
Capitol Complex.
•Chandigarh open hand monument
has been designed in the form of a
giant hand made from metal
sheets that rotates like a
weathercock, indicating the
direction of wind.
•This giant hand is 14 metres high
and weighs around 50 tonnes.
•The significance of open hand is
that it conveys the social message
of peace and unity that is "open to
 chandigarh Corbusier’s
works

secretariat
palace assembly

museum
high court
 high court

•This structure has a double roof, projecting

over the office block like a parasol or an
inverted umbrella.
• This magnificent outward sweep of the
upper roof is symbolic of protection &
justice to the people.
•The 3 vertical piers, rising 60 feet from the
floor and painted in bright colours from the
grand entrance of the building facade. On
the rear walls of the court rooms, hang the
giant wooden tapestries.
•Classic example of cubism.
•Perfectly composed vertical and horizontal
 •The Secretariat is the largest of these
secretariat edifices in the Capitol Complex. It is the
headquarter of both Punjab and
Haryana governments.
• It is a huge multi-storied linear slab-
like structure, intended as a work place
for 4000 people.
• The building is 254 meters long and
42 meters high. It is composed of 8
storeys.
•The long line of rhythmic sun breakers
is relieved by introducing varied heights
and projections, together with a roof
containing towers, funnels, pavilions
and a cafeteria jutting out like an art
object placed on a pedestal
•. In the hands of Corbusier, this
basically repetitive framework has been
shaped into a work of art.
•Built during 1953-59, it is shaped like
an eight - storey concrete slab, with its
distinctive brise-soleil ( louvered
screen ) of deeply sculptured two-storey
porticos in the centre, housing the
offices of ministers.
 high court

•Access to the upper floors is

through a ramp sheltered by
a portico.
•The gradual climb reveals
the vast expanse and the
coloured concrete volumes of
the bldg.
•The rooms are shielded by
the sun breakers from inside.
 assembly hall
•The most majestic
entrance to the assembly is
reflected in a large pool of
water.
•The main entrance is fitted
with a door made of enamel
steel ,a gift from France to
Punjab on which many of
Corbusier’s motifs are
depicted.
•The circular auditorium is
crowned by a frustum which
is said to depict the horn of
a cow.

Door designed and painted by

Corbusier.
UNITE D’HABITATION
ARCHITECT: LE CORBUSIER
LOCATION: MARSEILLES, FRANC
YEAR OF
CONSTRUCTION: 1946-1952
BUILDING TYPE: MULTIFAMILY
HOUSING
CONSTRUCTION
MATERIAL: CONCRETE
•Le Corbusier‘ s most influential late
work was his first significant postwar
structure—the UnitÈ d'Habitation in
Marseilles of 1947-52.

•The giant, twelve-story apartment

block for 1.600 people is the late
modern counterpart of the mass
housing schemes of the 1920s,
similarly built to alleviate a severe
postwar housing shortage.
• structurally it is simple: a rectilinear
ferroconcrete grid, into which are
slotted pre cast individual apartment
units, like 'bottles into a wine rack'
as the architect put it.
•Through ingenious planning, twenty-
three different apartment
configurations were provided to
accommodate single persons and
families as large as ten, nearly all
•Inside, corridors run through the centre of
the long axis of every third floor of the
building, with each apartment lying on two
levels, and stretching from one side of the
building to the other, with a balcony.
•In the block's planning, the architect drew
on his studies of early Soviet Communal
houses such as the Narkomfin Building.
•Appropriately, unlike many of the inferior
system-built blocks it inspired, which lack
the original's generous proportions,
communal facilities and parkland setting, the
Unité is popular with its residents and is now
mainly occupied by middle-class
professionals.
•The building is constructed in béton brut
(rough-cast concrete), as the hoped-for steel
frame proved too expensive in light of post-
War shortages.
•The replacement material influenced the
•The Unité d'Habitation , literally,
"Housing Unity" or "Housing Unit) is
the name of a modernist residential
housing design principle developed
by Le Corbusier (with the
collaboration of painter-architect
NadirAfonso).
•Probably his most famous work, it
proved enormously influential and is
often cited as the initial inspiration of
the Brutalist architectural style and
philosophy.
•The Marseille building comprises 337
apartments arranged over twelve
stories, all suspended on large piloti.
•The building also incorporates shops,
sporting, medical and educational
facilities, and a hotel.
•The flat roof is designed as a
communal terrace with sculptural
PLAN, SECTIONS & ELEVATION OF UNITE D’HABITATION
 FURNITURE DESIGN BY LE CORBUSIER

Le Corbusier began experimenting with furniture design in 1928 after inviting the
architect, Charlotte Perriand, to join his studio. His cousin, Pierre Jeanneret,
also collaborated on many of the designs.
AN ASSIGNMENT BY:

M.JYOTHIRMAYEE
KRANTHI
P.PRIYADARSHINI
M.REVATHI
K.SUMATHI
P.SURYAPRABHA