Insight Series #6 Colophon inter-architecture Insight Series #6 Introduction Architecture (Re)Thinking - Le Corbusier Gerrit Rietveld Academie (Re)Thinking - Le Corbusier We do that matters Insight Colophon Series #6 Insight Se ries #6 Insight Series #6 The primus-inter-pares (Re)Thinking - Le Corbusier Laura Casey © Gerrit Rietveld Academie Laura Dima of architecture, or does Amsterdam, 2013 Mai-Loan Gaudez Fred. Roeskestraat 96 Marinus de Beer 1076 ED Amsterdam Masha Soetekouw Le Corbusier transcends The Netherlands Mathilde Renault T +31 (0)20-571 1600 Mayra Teixeira Sérgio this by far? www.gerritrietveldacademie.nl Mees van Rijckevorsel Henri Snel, Tutor and Head The fi rst time I came into physical www.inter-architecture.nl Merel Bernhardt of inter- Morag Mayer architecture contact with his work was in India, in Ahmed- Tutors: Vibeke Gieskes and Naama Aharony abad in 1992. I was totally overwhelmed by Henri Snel Niels Hendriks Paz Ma the brutalism, which he used to transform Students: Sandy Bruns the surroundings. However, once inside the Aisha Fouad Stefan Voets megalomaniac building there was a soft- Anatasja Pandilovska Stephanie Varsakis ness, an architectural softness. A softness Anne van Klooster Svetlana Kolesina Anne Sophie James Thijs Verster that is so characteristic of his work. This play Daniel Schwartz Victoria Verseau with light, the unexpected light, has made Elin Gärdenfors Yaniv Schwartz a big impression on me, far away in India. Hein van Duppen Izabela Stepska Concept and design: Anja Groten Later on I visited Notre-Dame-du- Jana Vukšic Printing and binding: Haut, Villa Savoye and maison La Roche. Jeanne d’Arc Umubano Edition Winterwork Never as a series, always separately. Julia Conceição Estevão Edition: 150 copies Julia Vrager The annual trip with our department Katharina Wienen to visit many works of Le Corbusier was 148 1 inter-architecture Insight Series #6 Introduction inter-architecture Insight Series #6 Introduction Gerrit Rietveld Academie (Re)Thinking - Le Corbusier by Henri Snel Gerrit Rietveld Academie (Re)Thinking - Le Corbusier by Henri Snel established after Ben Zegers (director of wondering what we will be able to see in the Bachelor courses at the Gerrit Rietveld the work of our students as a result of this Academie), gave me a leaflet about excursion. Or is it perhaps too early to dis- Marseille, the cultural capital of Europe cuss this, does it need time, time to take in 2013. Without a further thought I said to root, time to mature? I hope so. One thing him: “Le Corbusier, yes, we will organise has become clear to me; he was the best, a Le Corbusier tour.” ‘the one and only’. Viewing a series of buildings, studying and drawing them. Preferably not Henri Snel, Head of inter-architecture, visiting a single other building in between, but Gerrit Rietveld Academie a total focus on the works of Le Corbusier. We did it! We visited maison La Roche, Villa Savoye, Unité d’habitation, the church Église Saint-Pierre and the stadium in Firminy, La Tourette (also stayed overnight) and Notre-Dame-du-Haut. A dream I have had to wait for almost 50 years to realise, the question why I’ve waited this long I often wondered about during the tour. It has made me emotional, it has touched me deeply and made me richer. He has had so much influence on contemporary architecture, inspired so many people and hopefully our students. I’m also 2 3 inter-architecture Insight Series #6 Introduction inter-architecture Insight Series #6 Introduction Gerrit Rietveld Academie Experiencing Le Corbusier’s by Vibeke Gieskes Gerrit Rietveld Academie Experiencing Le Corbusier’s by Vibeke Gieskes architecture architecture Experiencing Le Corbusier’s to develop a ‘new architecture’ that would architecture belong to the ‘new era’ – ‘the machine age’ as he called it – made him one of the leading The uniqueness of the oeuvre of figures of the first international congresses Le Corbusier (1887-1965) results not only on architecture (CIAM). At these congresses from the architect’s distinctive choice of ma- held between 1928 and 1959, more than half terials, spatial dimensions and use of light, a century after the peak of industrialisation, but should also be seen in light of his in- an international elite of architects, urban depth knowledge of history, humanity, designers and artists was rethinking the role philosophy, and parallel art forms, such as of architecture. In 1926 Le Corbusier for- music, literature, and the visual and per- mulated his five points of architecture, pro- forming arts. Le Corbusier’s rich and multi- posing that the architect create a maximum layered oeuvre is not bound to architecture of space, light and freedom in and around alone, but also relates to other fields and buildings; liberate floor plan and facades by scales of designing space, including urban- using a constructive skeleton of reinforced ism and interior design. Le Corbusier was concrete; intertwine environment and build- able to convince his clients and the world ing; and optimise the positioning of buildings around him, expressing himself in clear towards the sun. During ‘architectural prom- spoken language as well as in persuasive enades’ through the spaces, people would writings: articles, books and numerous no longer perceive these spaces as static letters. but as dynamic experiences. Le Corbusier These talents, in addition to his out- stated in 1931 in his book Towards a New spoken ideas about society and his ambition Architecture, that in the machine age the architect should design the house as a 4 5 inter-architecture Insight Series #6 Introduction inter-architecture Insight Series #6 Introduction Gerrit Rietveld Academie Experiencing Le Corbusier’s by Vibeke Gieskes Gerrit Rietveld Academie Experiencing Le Corbusier’s by Vibeke Gieskes architecture architecture machine to live in but should never forget architecture, as the ‘engineer achieves har- mony’, while the architect, ‘by his arrange- ment of forms, realizes an order which is pure creation of spirit’. Experiencing the work of Le Cor- busier in September 2013 helped us to un- derstand his views on modern society and provided insight into the radical way in which he reformulated architecture – always with a remarkable sense of beauty – at a time of societal change. In the following pieces, the partici- pating students describe their own modes of thinking and working in relation to their expe- riences of the architecture of Le Corbusier. Vibeke Gieskes, teacher of Theory and History of Architecture 6 7 inter-architecture Insight Series #6 Contents inter-architecture Insight Series #6 Contents Gerrit Rietveld Academie Experiencing Le Corbusier’s Gerrit Rietveld Academie Experiencing Le Corbusier’s architecture architecture INTRODUCTION > Henri Snel .............................................. 1 Contents > Vibeke Gieskes .......................................... 4 INTENTIONAL MISTAKES ........................ 12 > Aisha Fouad SPACE AND A GAME BETWEEN US ....... 16 > Anatasja Pandilovska ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITY .......... 22 > Anne van Klooster EXPERIENCING THE MODULOR ............ 26 > Anne Sophie James THE TRIBAL ROOTS OF FIRMINY ........... 29 > Daniel Schwartz PURE ARTISTY ...................................... 33 > Elin Gärdenfors A PLAY OF LIGHT ................................... 37 > Hein van Duppen COLOR AND MATERIALS ........................ 42 > Izabela Stepska LE CORBUSIER; INSPIRED BY THE HUMAN BODY BUT NOT BY THE HUMAN LIFE ...................... 45 > Jana Vukšic LIGHT IN VILLA SHODHAN .................... 50 > Jeanne d’Arc Umubano LEARNING FROM LE CORBUSIER ......... 54 > Julia Conceição Estevão 8 9 inter-architecture Insight Series #6 Contents inter-architecture Insight Series #6 Contents Gerrit Rietveld Academie Experiencing Le Corbusier’s Gerrit Rietveld Academie Experiencing Le Corbusier’s architecture architecture WHEN FORM CONNECTS RONCHAMP, LE CORBUSIER ................ 106 > Morag Mayer TO YOUR BODY ..................................... 60 > Julia Vrager LIGHT AND SPIRIT ................................ 112 > Naama Aharony LIGHT AND THE INTERACTION OF OPEN AND CLOSED ......................... 63 IDEOLOGY ............................................ 115 > Katharina Wienen > Niels Hendriks FORMULAE ME, TADAO ANDO, > Laura Casey ............................................ 67 AND LE CORBUSIER ............................. 118 > Paz Ma LE CORBUSIER- FAILED UTOPIA ............ 70 > Laura Dima ALL IN ONE ........................................... 121 > Sandy Bruns “THE SCIENTIST MAKES THE WORLD AVAILABLE, THE ARTIST MAKES THE SUN IS THE OIL THAT MAKES IT LIVEABLE.” ........................................ 78 THE MACHINE DO ITS JOB ................... 126 > Mai-Loan Gaudez > Stefan Voets THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY ....................... 82 DOMINICAN MONASTERY ..................... 130 > Marinus de Beer > Stephanie Varsakis MY LITTLE EYE ...................................... 86 FRAMING .............................................. 133 > Masha Soetekouw > Svetlana Kolesina UPPER SPIRIT ........................................ 90 CONCRETE MATTERS ........................... 136 > Mathilde Renault > Thijs Verster LINA BO BARDI: ARCHITECTURE ........... 95 TO PERCEIVE ........................................ 140 > Mayra Teixeira Sérgio > Victoria Verseau THE SPACE AROUND ........................... 100 TO NATURE, PEACE OF MIND > Mees van Rijckevorsel AND PROGRESS IN LIFE ....................... 144 > Yaniv Schwartz DOES THE PERFECT HARMONY EXIST? 103 > Merel Bernhardt