Le Corbusier: The Latest Architecture and News

Last week, thanks to the courtesy of ACME Studios, we gave you the chance to win a pen and card case based on Le Corbusier’s 1947 Modulor theory.

It’s hard to imagine Le Corbusier – the bespectacled legend of 20th century Modernism, known for his ultra-clean aesthetics – as living in the everyday, messy world that we all inhabit. Which is why the Fondation le Corbusier‘s decision to display rare color photographs of Le Corbusier is such a treat for us all.

The photographs were taken for the magazine Paris Match in 1953 by Willy Rizzo, a fashion photographer better known for his shots of 1950s stars and starlets. The images depict the then 66-year-old Corbusier in various spots about Paris: the Musée National d’Art Moderne, his apartment, in front of a blackboard (sporting a sketch of Unité d’Habitation).

In her Fast Company article, Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan explains that these images give us a glimpse of the man behind the myth: “Even the way we talk about him now, as Le Corbusier, refers to an idea as much as a person. Captured 12 years before he drowned in the Mediterranean at his beloved summer home, Rizzo’s photographs give us a glimpse of the pre-sainted man–aka Charles-Édouard Jeanneret.”

The photographs will be on display at the exhibit “Le Corbusier by Willy Rizzo” at Le Corbusier’s Maison La Roche, in Paris, until December 15th.

Story via Fast Company, Photos Willy Rizzo

Check out more images of Le Corbusier, after the break…

Last night, ArchDaily indulged in building our very own LEGO® Architecture Villa Savoye. As one of the most influential buildings in the International style of architecture, it is no surprise that architecture and LEGO fanatics rejoiced last month when LEGO® announced Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye as the newest addition to their architecture series. Now, thanks to LEGO® Architecture, five of our readers will win their very own.

We want to know what building should be the next in the LEGO® Architecture series and why. All you have to do is become a registered user at ArchDaily and leave us your answer in the comments below by Sunday, September 23rd! (More information on LEGO® Architecture’s Villa Savoye, designed by architectural artist Michael Hepp, can be found here.)

Official rules:

The five winners will be chosen at random from entries received between Monday, September 17th and Sunday, September 23rd 11:59 EST. You must leave a comment as a registered user at ArchDaily. Open to anyone in the world. One entry per person. ArchDaily will enforce verification and remove duplicated ones before choosing the winner.

Good luck!

UPDATE: And, the winners are….

• Seth Ellsworth
• Wonyeop Seok
• Daniel Bollard
• Makoto Shibuya
• Mark Kitchens

Congrats! You can expect an email from us shortly.

In Upstate New York, residents are clamoring to raze down their Government Center, Paul Rudolph’s classic 1970 example of brutalist design. Ostensibly, this is due to flood-damage. But it can’t hurt that, as one resident was quoted in The New York Times as saying, it’s “a big ugly building.”

In Minnesota, city officials would rather tear down M. Paul Fiedberg’s Peavey Plaza, a “Modernist gem” completed in ’73, than spend the time, money, and effort to revitalize it.

In Baghdad, on the other hand, a gymnasium completed in 1982, suffering the signs of decades of violence, poverty, and ill-executed renovation, has sparked a small preservation movement, reawakening a country to its neglected cultural heritage.

The architect behind this Iraqi endeavor? None other than Le Corbusier himself.

Read More on the “forgotten” Le corbusier in Baghdad, after the break…

Planned for completion in 2014, the iconic United Nations Headquarters (UNHQ) is in the middle of a $1.876 billion refurbishment project, known as the Capital Master Plan, which seeks to update the aging building with a more safe, modern and sustainable work environment. Located on the 18-acre site that was donated by John D. Rockefeller in the 1950s, the Manhattan UNHQ was designed by an international team of eleven architects who worked together in a post-World War II world to create an landmark building through collaboration rather than competition.

Continue reading for more details on the Capital Master Plan. 

In an article originally published on Plataforma Arquitectura, Guillermo Hevia Garcia describes his experience when visiting the Unité d’ Habitation in Marseille, France, also known as Cité Radieuse. On February 9th, the building was overcome by a large fire that was said to have been started due to a heating problem. The blaze took hundreds of firefighters nearly a day and a half to put it out. Eight residential units and four hotel rooms were destroyed, and approximately 35 other units were severely damaged by smoke or action relief. Most residents have returned home to the Unité d’ Habitation, Le Corbusier‘s thesis on domestic life, as they continue to live the communal life that the renowned architect dreamt up.

Read on for more after the break.

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A well known architectural classic by Le Corbusier, the Notre Dame du Ronchamp, or more commonly referred to as Ronchamp, is featured very elegantly in this video by italian architect Franco Di Capua. The curved roof that peels up towards the heavens, the curving walls, and the the sporadic window placement on the walls are just a few of the architectural elements that make this project such a marvel.

Since 2006, the International Art Consultants (IAC) has celebrated architects’ passion for photography through the Architect’s Eye Awards. Simon Kennedy won the Architecture and Place category this year with his image of the ‘Heygate Estate’, while Revti Halai’s photo of the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion received runner-up. The Architecture and People category was won by Neil Dusheiko’s photograph of ‘Unite d’Habitation’, and Chris Drummond’s ‘Ghosts of the Underground’ received runner-up.

View the four winning photographs after the break.

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Highlighting fashion one more time this week (take a look at An Architect’s Dress Code) we wanted to share with you this Le Corbusier inspired design. Taking a nod from one of architecture’s greats the Corneliani man for Fall/Winter 2011 is an interpretation of the Swiss architect and designer Le Corbusier’s timeless elegance and the ‘talking jacket’. Setting a scene reminiscent of a 1940s movie set the Italian brand’s new collection is described as ‘a suit with peak lapels, a soft, enveloping, deconstructed overcoat, thick glasses and a bow tie symbolise with an eccentric touch a sophisticated and relaxed chic.’

In 1956, preparations had begun for the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels. This was to be the first World’s Fair held since the end of World War II, the concept behind the Expo was to celebrate the rejuvenation of civilization from the destruction of war through the use of technology. This World Fair is best known for the musical advances that was combined with architecture, creating a gestalt through an experiential encounter where body meets sound and space.

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This week, with the help of our readers, our Architecture City Guide is headed to Paris. For centuries Paris has been the laboratory where innovative architects and artists have come to test their ideas. This has created a city that has bit of everything. Where the architecture of some cities seems to undergo phases of punctuated equilibrium, Paris’s architectural fossil record gives an impression of gradualism; all the missing links are there. This makes it easy to trace the origins of the most contemporary ideas throughout history. Nothing seems to come out of nowhere. If you look around you kind find the design’s inspiration running through the city’s Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Rocco, Neo-Classical, Empire, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modern, Post-Modern, and Contemporary Architecture. Seen in another context, many of Paris’s buildings might seem out of place, but the bones of this city support the newest iterations on the oldest and most profound questions. The 24 contemporary designs that comprise our list probably should not be viewed outside of this context, even though that is the stated goal of some of the designs.

As the most visited city in the world and arguably the capital of culture, it is impossible to capture the essence of Paris in 24 modern/contemporary designs. Our readers supplied us with great suggestions, and we really appreciate the help and use of their photographs. The list is far from complete and we realize that many iconic buildings are not yet on the list. We will be adding to it in the near feature, so please add more in the comments section below.

The Architecture City Guide: Paris list and corresponding map after the break.

We saw this incredible set of posters from iconic architects created by artist Andrea Gallo and felt the need to share them with you. They will be available for sale soon, so we look forward to buy one and decorate our office! Which one would you get? Check the posters of Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, Alvar Aalto and Walter Gropius after the break.

For this week the Architecture City Guide series headed to the city of Boston including neighboring Cambridge just across the Charles River Basin. This area has an overwhelmingly large amount of modern architecture in a small radius, and our list reflects just that. What buildings do you want to see added to our Boston list, share them with us in the comment section below.

The Architecture City Guide: Boston list and corresponding map after the break!

TDO was commissioned by Wallpaper* Magazine to re-approach the design of a doll’s house. They were asked to consider Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye as an inspirational starting point, and from there developed a concept that successfully responded with a functional doll’s house with a contemporary design.

Easily regarded as one of the most adroit architects of 20th century, Le Corbusier was a relentless designer, urban planner and writer dedicated to industrializing almost every city he came across.