Though a pioneer of modern architecture, Le Corbusier
was more than just an architect. He was also a famous
writer, painter and urbanist, and the designer of some
of the most iconic furniture of the 20th century. In a
career that spanned five decades he created a body
of work that is still revered and respected today.
He was born Charles-Édouard Jeanneret on October 6,
1887 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, a small city in northwestern
Switzerland only five kilometers (3.1 miles) from the
French border. His father, Georges Edouard Jeanneret,
was a watch engraver and enameller, while his mother,
Marie Charlotte Amélie Jeanneret-Perret, was a music
teacher. From an early age Le Corbusier was attracted
to the visual arts and studied at the local Art School.
In 1907 he traveled to Paris, France, and worked
in the office of Auguste Perret, the French pioneer
of reinforced concrete. By 1908 he was studying
architecture in Vienna, Austria, with Josef Hoffman,
before moving to Berlin, Germany, in 1910 to work for
the architect Peter Behrens. It is believed that during
his stay in Berlin Le Corbusier met both Mies van der
Rohe and Walter Gropius.
At the outbreak of World War I, Le Corbusier returned
to Switzerland to teach at his old school. It was during
this period that he also worked on the theoretical
architectural studies that would become the foundation
for his future work. On returning to Paris he opened
his own architectural practice with his cousin Pierre
Jeanneret, and by 1920 had adopted his pseudonym
of Le Corbusier. Over the next decade, Le Corbusier
further refined his theories on Purism, including his
famous “Five Points” of architecture, and would put
them into practice building a series of modernist villas
in and around Paris. This period culminated in the
design and construction of Villa Savoye.
Throughout the 1930s and after World War II, Le
Corbusier expanded his ideas on urban planning, and
attempted to realize his work on projects in Marseilles,
France and in a new capital city that was being built for
the states of Punjab and Haryana in India.
When Le Corbusier died on August 27, 1965, he left
behind a substantial body of work that spanned five
decades, including journals, books, iconic furniture
designs and ground-breaking architecture such as
Villa Savoye.
Le Corbusier
© Fondation Le Corbusier
20
21014_NA.indd 20 27/04/2012 6:37 PM