"Form follows Function"
1887–1965
Also known as Charles Édouard Jeanneret, Le Corbusier was a French architect who affected the development of modern architecture. Early in his life, he studied modern building construction under the pioneer user of concrete, Auguste Perret in Paris.
As early as 1915, Le Corbusier began dealing with the problems of architecture and construction. After spending a year developing his ideas on the problems facing architectural he spent following offering solutions, many of which were drawn from other parts of society. One example is how he incorporated architectural techniques into an industrial world. Some of the residences and even cities he designed resemble the construction of steamships.
In 1920 Le Corbusier helped found L'Esprit Nouveau (The New Spirit). Many of his writings describe his theories on architecture. He gathered his ideas until 1925, when he finally explained that a house is simply "a machine for living." This statement reveals his functionalist attitude. In fact, it can be compared to the philosophy "Form follows Function".
Essentially a functionalist, he
broke with the forms and design of historic styles, and sought a
new 20th-century style to be based on engineering achievements in
bridge building and steamship construction; on modern materials
such as ferroconcrete, sheet glass, and synthetics; and on
contemporary needs such as town planning and housing projects.
His work did much to bring about general acceptance of the
now-common international style of low-lying, unadorned buildings
that depend for aesthetic effect on simplicity of forms and
relation to function.
By 1921, he openly expressed that modern architecture needs to be "renovated." To explain this idea he created the "Citrohan" model for residences. After further development, the first structure was a villa that used his new ideas. He further expanded on his new twentieth century style incorporating engineering principles with the use of manufactured concrete, processed glass, and other synthetically produced materials. Using the resources of the modern world, he remained true to his functionalist style, which was to employ a simple form and structure of undecorated buildings, while accommodating for the function of the building.
One of his famous designs was for the Palace of the League of Nations formed after World War I. As a competition-winning design in 1927, it unfortunately wasn't used on the actual palace. Le Corbusier did have a second opportunity. The result of World War II yielding the development of the United Nations, a replacement for the League of Nations. In 1946 Le Corbusier joined the international group of architects in their planning the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
Between the wars and these two projects, Le Corbusier completed personal achievements. He further explained his life-long developing philosophies in two writings: Vers une architecture (Towards a New Architecture, 1927) and La maison des hommes (The Home of Man, 1942).
After his United Nations project, Le Corbusier began a personal movement that initiated his change toward vertical development. He applied this style to the cities that he planned afterward. In Marseilles, he completed an apartment house called he Unité d'Habitation in 1952. He moved on to the court buildings of Chandigarh, India. By 1956, most of the court buildings exhibit his new style.