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Sharl Le CorbusierFrench architect and architectural theorist
Date of Birth: 06.10.1887
Country:  France |
Content:
Biography of Le Corbusier
Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, better known as Le Corbusier, was a French architect, designer, artist, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of modern architecture. He was born on October 6, 1887, in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
Early Life and Education
Le Corbusier grew up in La Chaux-de-Fonds, a small town in Switzerland. He attended a kindergarten that followed the educational methods of Friedrich Fröbel, which focused on the unique needs and abilities of children. As a teenager, he studied decorative arts at the School of Applied Arts under the guidance of Charles L'Eplattenier. During this time, he also pursued jewelry making independently. Le Corbusier's early architectural education was influenced by his mentor René Chapallaz.
In 1908, Le Corbusier studied architecture in Vienna under Josef Hoffmann. From October 1910 to March 1911, he worked in Berlin under the renowned architect Peter Behrens. It was during this period that a visit to a retirement home deeply impacted Le Corbusier, leading him to believe that everyone should have the opportunity to live as beautifully and peacefully as the monks he observed in the monastery attached to the retirement home.
Career and Contributions
In early 1917, Le Corbusier decided to settle in Paris, where he opened his own architectural studio in 1922. His cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, became his constant partner, and together they worked on numerous projects. Le Corbusier's avant-garde villas built in the 1920s, with their unique and provocative aesthetics for the time, established him as a leader of the European avant-garde.
As his fame grew in the 1930s, Le Corbusier received major commissions, including the Paris Salvation Army building. During this period, he lectured at universities in the United States and continued to educate interns from various countries. He also formalized his relationship with Yvonne Gallis, a dressmaker and model from Monaco. In 1930, Le Corbusier became a French citizen.
In the 1950s, Le Corbusier's style shifted towards rich, sculptural forms and textured surfaces. Throughout his career, he left a legacy of buildings around the world, aiming to create the concept of the "Radiant City," a highly favorable environment for human existence. Some of his most iconic projects towards the end of his life included the French Ronchamp chapel, the Tokyo Museum of Western Art, the La Tourette monastery complex, and the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts.
Personal Life and Legacy
Le Corbusier's wife passed away in 1975, and he had a long extramarital affair with Marguerite Tjader Harris, a Swedish-American heiress. On August 27, 1965, despite doctors' warnings, Le Corbusier decided to go swimming near Cap Roquebrune on the Mediterranean Sea, where he resided in his summer house. He drowned, likely due to a heart attack during the swim. Le Corbusier was buried next to his wife.
