LE CORBUSIER & PIERRE JEANNERET p.1 EXHIBITION FROM SEPTEMBER 20 TO DECEMBER 17, 2011 LE CORBUSIER & PIERRE JEANNERET: THE CHANDIGARH PROJECT LOW–COST FURNITURE AND OTHER WORKS Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret relaxing on the on the relaxing Jeanneret and Pierre Corbusier Le by manufactured on a pedal boat Shukna Lake Sharma. Sureh by Photo c. 1950. Jeanneret, Pierre LE CORBUSIER & PIERRE JEANNERET p.2 INFORMATION TO THE MEDIA Next September, Galerie Anton Meier will inaugurate the first exhibition in Switzerland ever devoted to the work of Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, entitled «The Chandigarh-Project». The exhibition will be open to the public, from September 20 to December 17 2011 at the Palais de l’Athénée in Geneva. There will be a private viewing on Tuesday September 20, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Galerie Anton Meier had already proposed in 2007, the first exhibition in Switzerland devoted to the work of the Geneva-born architect, Pierre Jeanneret. Today, a few months to the 125th anniversary of the birth of Le Corbusier, Anton Meier returns to the revolutionary design of the two architects and allows the public a clearer insight into the humanistic work of Pierre Jeanneret, often overshadowed by that of his illustrious cousin. The exhibition showcases a unique adventure: the construction in India from 1950 onwards of Chandigarh - and the furniture created for the new city by Pierre Jeanneret and Le Corbusier. A selection of pieces from that period, handcrafted on site for the official buildings of Punjab’s new capital, is presented with rare street furniture units as well as Le Corbusier’s symbols and prints. Exceptional furnishings and street furniture Solid teak tables, cane chairs, armchairs in wood, leather and Indian cotton displayed alongside other more amazing items such an item recovered from the street: a circular cast iron manhole cover, with a recessed reproduction of the Chandigarh master plan drawn by Le Corbusier in 1951. These items illustrate the modern spirit that drove the design of the new city, entirely drawn by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and their teams. They are like pieces of a total work of art on an urban scale. The furniture pieces also show exceptional workmanship. In the aftermath of independence, India was bereft of industrial infrastructure, everything used to be imported from Great Britain. Pierre Jeanneret – instigator of a kind of sustainable development before the concept even existed – decided to tackle the problem from a different angle. He decided to use local materials and expertise to develop, based on his drawings, furniture manufactured by local craftsmen - by Indians, thereby liberating them from their dependence on the West. The underrated cousin, artisan of Chandigarh From 1923 onwards, the Geneva-based architect Pierre Jeanneret (1896 – 1967) became the partner of his cousin Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, alias Le Corbusier (1887 – 1965). In Paris, they created the Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret practice. Together, they designed some of the most remarkable works of the 20th century: Villa Savoye, the «Clarté» building in Geneva and with Charlotte Perriand in 1927, iconic furniture such as the LC2 armchair and the B306 chaise longue. Although the two cousins shared a similar architectural vision, they disagreed on their commitments during the war. Le Corbusier is highly criticised today for choosing to open a practice in Vichy during the occupation, while Pierre Jeanneret left to join the French Resistance. After the war, they reunited to work on the monumental construction project of the new capital for the Punjab State, brainchild of Prime Minister Nehru. While Le Corbusier saw Chandigarh as the opportunity to finally implement his revolutionary theories, Pierre Jeanneret would be the lynchpin for the project’s practical implementa- tion. While Le Corbusier pursued other large-scale projects at the same time, Pierre Jeanneret moved to India, where he lived for 15 years while helping to draw the colossal plans of the parliament, the university and the Chandigarh court in particular. He only returned to Geneva a couple of years before his death, after completing drawings for most of the city, training local architects and helping to de- velop expertise. As the first exhibition in Switzerland devoted to the works of Pierre Jeanneret and Le Corbusier, and a follow up to «Pierre Jeanneret: Chandigarh Project. Low Cost Furniture» in 2007, this show is a unique opportunity to revisit what the two cousins embodied from 1950 onwards. LE CORBUSIER & PIERRE JEANNERET p.3 THE CHANDIGARH PROJECT Historical background In 1948, the region of Punjab was torn apart by the partition of India and Pakistan when India gained independence from Britain. The predominantly Sikh and Hindu Punjabi Indians lost their capital, the prestigious Mogul city of Lahore, to the Moslem Punjabis incorporated into Pakistan. In 1948, the Indian Prime Minister, Nehru, began contemplating the idea of building a new capital for the Indian Punjab. Nehru wanted a modern city, unfettered by the traditions of the past and which would become the symbol of Modern India. He chose Chandigarh, a small farming village in the middle of the State. First, two American architects, proponents of the theories of Garden Cities, were mandated to draw the master plan of the city. The accidental death of one of them, Matthew Nowicki, in a plane crash, put a halt to the project. Le Corbusier was then selected by the Indians, to continue the project. Chandigarh: birth of a new city The Swiss-born architect, native of La Chaux-de- Fonds, could at last realize his dream of a mo- dern city, already theorized in 1922. His revolutio- nary concept of collective housing had already been tried and tested in the Marseille Unité d’Habitation (housing block unit), after the war. He then conceived, together with Pierre Jeanneret, his partner during the major Paris years - 1920 to 1940 -, a very bold plan for the Indian city. Le Corbusier applied the symbolism of the human body to the city plan. The «head» of the city, the seat of executive, legislative and judiciary power, was placed in the north. The «heart» of the city, a commercial area with markets, theatre houses and public areas, was placed in the middle. The city was divided into rectangular grids connec- ted by a network of roads and vegetations, ana- Le Corbusier, logous to the human veins and lungs. Inside the Manhole cover, grids, the houses were laid out along the organic c. 1951-54, streets with flexible shapes. An artificial lake at cast iron. Ø 66,5 cm. the «head» of the city supplied water to a river flowing through a series of parks. LE CORBUSIER & PIERRE JEANNERET p.4 Le Corbusier drew some of his greatest masterpieces in Chandigarh. The High Court of Justice, the General Secretariat, the 250m-long building for Ministers, and the Parliament with its hyperboloid tower modelled on the cooling towers of electrical power plants. In addition to these buildings, Le Corbusier designed tapestries for interior furnishing and a painted enamel coated monumental door for the Parliament house. The open hand giant sculpture has become the symbol of the city and of Le Corbusier. Although it may seem austere at first sight, the wealth of details has created in Chandigarh a humane, organic and playful architecture that has gained worldwide recognition. In the entire history of huma- nity, Chandigarh is only rivalled by Brasilia - the new capital of Brazil in 1956, conceived by the brilliant architect, Oscar Niemeyer. In fact, Niemeyer recounts how his meeting with Le Corbusier in the 1930s influenced his architectural vision. Jeanneret: prime contractor of this organic architecture The city’s construction spanned the 1950s and 1960s. Right from the beginning, Le Corbusier assigned the responsibility of implementing his drawings to Pierre Jeanneret. A couple of British architects, Edwin Maxwell Frey and Jane Beverly Drew, recognized for their work on tropical architecture, joined the team and were in charge of the housing units. The four then worked with local Indian architects. Jeanneret moved to India, created the city’s scho- ol of architecture and became an advisor to the government. He designed a large number of buil- dings for the city, such as the villas, the university and the Gandhi Bhavan monument, considered as his masterpiece. The edifices are in brick or concrete. Inge- Le Corbusier / Pierre Jeanneret, nious sun-breaking devices are used to create Model of the State Central Library, c. 1960. shade inside the buildings and allow interplay of shapes on the façades of buildings. LE CORBUSIER & PIERRE JEANNERET p.5 The Chandigarh furniture, pieces of a complete work of art Everything in Chandigarh is modern. From bus stops to go- vernment buildings, road signs to the sailing club, manhole covers to hospitals, stadiums to nursery schools, everything was designed by the architects. The same goes for the fur- niture, mostly designed by Pierre Jeanneret for the public buildings. In 1927, he met Charlotte Perriand, and designed with her the furniture for the Le Corbusier-Pierre Jeanneret practice, including the famous LC2 chair and the B306 chaise longue. For Chandigarh, Pierre Jeanneret drew a very extensive se- ries of furniture using local expertise and materials. Derived from Indian craftsmanship and a revolutionary design, the pieces of Chandigarh furniture were custom made for each function. The Government buildings were furnished with solid teak or Indian rosewood furniture upholstered with leather from already dead cows, as required by Sikh and Hindu tra- ditions. Each piece of furniture was designed to be totally functional. The desks had storage holes, the armchairs had well-padded, comfortable seats, and the caned seats of chairs were comfortable even during the very hot seasons.