Essay - Dec 19/ 2017 Page 1/4 Written by MO.Kabbara Submitted to Mr Loed Stolte

The Lesson On Le Corbusier: Le Corbusier, also perceived the effect of technologies on architecture when The painterly element in Le Corbus- he encountered a new way of building ier’s purist architecture construction at the architectural stu- dios of Auguste and Gustave Perret The modern man, architect of tomor- in Paris, and Peter Behrens in Berlin. row, Le Corbusier; the grandfather of He illustrated these innovative building modern architecture, the inventor, and methods in the “Dom-Ino” Archigram the catalyst for creating new discours- in-which free plan slabs are manifested es of building and re-thinking architec- throughout pillars on their edge, and a ture. Le Corbusier had witnessed the staircase connecting several layers of era of machine advancements and the concrete skeletal forming new ty- their effects on reforming humanity, pology of architecture. The latter has economies of scale, and reshaping set a free field of architectural experi- the static life that human beings have • Charles l’eplattenier Swiss, Bassins du mentations and rejuvenation since the Doubs, Oil on canvas MOMA been living for decades and perhaps time of Le Corbusier, till our contem- centuries. He kept in touch with these porary days. exponential inventions and forecasted In their joint-venture the avant-garde on the future of the modern man. His magazine; “L’Esprit Nouveau”, they awareness and interest in modernly strongly insisted that architecture is advanced artefacts of technologies the art which has an intellectual or- at that time led him to surf over many der, a mathematical order, and it’s ex- notions of arts, history, and sciences. pressed by order and economy. They He realized the universal relationship described the economy as the law of between mathematics and art. As natural selection “mechanical election” a result, in 1920’s together with his where man has created everything ac- friend Amée Ozenfant, wrote many • Dom Ino - Reseach Gate cording to this notion. These notions articles on this topic where they start- Nevertheless, the melange of plastici- respond to his imperative needs and ed together an avant-garde magazine ty, sensitivity, purity, and then the der- suit the need of maximum capacity, “L’Esprit Nouveau” in Paris. In the ar- ivation of colour palette on one hand; which in return is the manifestation of ticles, they both criticized discourses and the medley of engineering and ar- purification. and manifested new doctrines. They chitecture, on the other hand, are well have situated architecture and the art preserved and obvious in his architec- of modern life in relation to emerging tural accumulated production. technologies, cinema as merging art, psychoanalysis, and politics. Le Corbusier was sensitive to many artistic movements back then, and he judged and criticized many notions and disciplines of art. For him, art is an inspirational tool which an architect could learn from and perhaps reshape his skills. The architect was inspired by Frederick Etchells, Charles l’eplatte- nier, and many more. His artistic ten- dency was evident in his early years in Paris when he met and collaborated with the painter Ozenfant where they both contributed to the artistic/literacy circles in Paris. Under Ozenfant’s tu- telage, Le Corbusier took up painting and they joined together in many exhi- bitions where they shared the rational and lucid pictorial language of Purism. Purism was the successor to Cubism according to Ozenfant. They published the booklet manifesto Aprés le Cub- • Frederick and Jessie Etchells Painting, • Artist - Max Bill -The New Spirit oil on canvas MOMA Museum fur Gestaltung-Swiss exhibition isme (after Cubism). Page 2/4

In addition, they arose the idea of con- have clearly shown that it was de- ception, where “God” the creator/artist signed as an amalgamation of Villa should put himself in a certain state of Citrohan and Dom-ino model. Its in- mind before picking up his tools. terlocking spaces are clearly illustrat- ed in the cross-sectional diagrams by Moreover, the notion of composition introducing double-height spaces, and was the optimum interrelation between a roof shading parasol for aeration pur- art and architectural elements in its poses and the exploitation of the free three-dimensional aspect. Yet, the uni- plan. It is also illustrated by introduc- ty in plasticity is a homogeneous rela- ing the wide horizontal vitrage (glazing) tionship between surface and volume superimposed on the skin (facades), which is a result of the play of densities in addition to the recessed ground distribution and the values of light and floor plan which elevates the mass on shadow, in which this fact reflected on free-standing pillars. the analysis of colours in paintings in • Old footage of Maison Biaseau - Construction Process relation to architectural forms. in Carthage-Tunisia, where I want to associate its facade with Mondrian’s painting. The distant connection between Pur- ism and the De Stijl movement in The Netherlands have affected Le Corbusi- er unconsciously. His several attempts on villa Baizeau

• Le Corbusier Still life 1920 oil on canvas

• Ozenfant still life with glass of red wine 1921 • Schematic Sections repersenting the volumet- Furthermore, they have also highlight- ric formulation Vs airation analysis: ed on the notion plasticity in relation “Trying to avoid the sun while assuring a con- to the sensations, and they have cat- stant ventilation in the house. The cross section provides the following solutions: the house egorized it as primary and secondary carries an umbrella which shades the interior sensations, fixed sensation, and the rooms; from the ground floor to the upper level series of associations. From this idea, the interior space flows from one room to an- I want to intervene on this topic with other, thus establishing a constant air current. The final execution was based upon a second a remarkable example of Le Corbusi- • First and second attempts - project which involved several essential modifi- er’s early works in 1920’s Villa Biazeau Facade Study cations.” Page 3/4

Yet, sometimes those columns are embedded as part of the building’s facades, forming a grid indissociable to a Piet Mondrian paintings, in which I want to highlight on through the fol- lowing diagrams:

• Facade analysis, grid abstraction, and asso- ciation with Mondrian’s painting

• Axonometric analysis, Skeletal abstraction of the grid, a superimpose of modrian 2D into 3D

Nevertheless, Mr Baizeau rejected the first two attempts and imposed his own reflections on the final design. A hybrid evolution of the Maison Dom- ino, as the as-built scheme features large cantilevered terraces, which serves as horizontal solar shades and also create a climate control by gener- ating air-corridors in the building. The architect never visited the site, and a local contractor hired by the client su- pervised the construction. Page 4/4

This example and many other ex- to criticism easily. Common people are new forms of architecture will come amples, reflect on the endless duality blaming architects for being in-human through clothing and fashion, or may- which Le Corbusier lived and how an as they serve their desires and not the be through compact objects which ambiguous man he was as he was full mass. We should learn from the past transforms into dwells, or field use on of contradictions. “I’m a double char- and observe the megalithic structures spot. Maybe a surface won’t be part acter, Man Ray the Poet, the artist Vs which are still standing strong till now. of architecture anymore, and levitated the Prophet”. His latest works imply his They were impossible to replicate, un- structures would be dominant. Unlim- tendency to transform his paradigms identified, yet sustainable, and many ited possibilities of inventions and rein- into architectural thinking. He appre- civilizations had inherited them and ventions. ciated plasticity, yet we can sense the used them. That is true architecture, rigid forms in his early works. However, and history is on its way to be written he later came back to this notion in his again, and the idea of the primitive hut later work in the velourical-shaped of of Marc-Antoine Laugier is no more the Ron-Champ cathedral as well as valid with the recent excavations. Yes, in the organic curved proposed city of we should re-think architecture again, Algérie master plan. Then we can see and always from a new starting point. him retreating from his colour palette We are looking forward to a new in his project Cité de Refuge, where phenomenology “Dom-Ino”, a totally primary un-earthy colours are crystal un-expected architectural paradigm, clear on the facades. accompanied with unconventional building technologies. Maybe this time, the Dom-Ino would be more vernacu- lar, preserving its identity and charter, and blocked from manipulating the na- ture and the human social behaviour.

Personal Reflection: Today the future of architecture is vague and virtual. The need of space is reducing with time. Museums, Li- braries, Banks, Hospitals, Parks, Civic • Cite’ de refuge Centers, Religious Facilities, Schools, • Algerie masterplan

Le Corbusier was no doubt one of a Resources: kind architect of his time. He was a reformist who learned from the past, • Foundation Le Corbusier website analyzed it, and added to it as a sur- •https://modernistarchitec- plus of architecture. His tens of books, ture.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/ hundreds of articles, paintings, sculp- le-corbusier-and-amedee-ozen- tures, and architectural works created fant%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cpur- his legacy. In association and in com- ism%E2%80%9D-1921/ •https://www.metmuseum.org/art/ parison to our modern days, one can libraries-and-research-centers/leon- position a great name Rem Koolhaas, ard-lauder-research-center/pro- an alternative to the postmodern era. • Ron champ Chathedral grams-and-resources/index-of-cub- Yet, still, nobody had the chance to ist-art-collectors/le-corbusier witness a transformational epoch after and Universities will be abandon with • Vers une Architecture Le Corbusier’s. the advancement of cutting-edge • Raumplan vs. plan libre book technologies. Reinventing new typol- • Le Corbusier: A Life Hardcover – One can slightly relate the globalization ogies is becoming part of the history Deckle Edge, November 11, 2008 and the Americanization as a phase in of architecture. I haven’t heard any re- humanity, economy, and politics which cent invention of a new typology since derived a huge step towards tech- the invention of the aeroplane where nologies and communications. Yet, an airport was a new typology to be it hasn’t changed the notion of archi- added to the list. The architecture will tecture as a whole. Architecture in the survive on an individual basis only, so post-modernism could be subjected personal just like prosthetics. Maybe, Thank you!