Le Corbusier

Born Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, Le Corbusier (1887-1965) is widely acclaimed as the most influential architect of the 20th century. From private villas to mass social housing projects, his radical ideas, designs, and writings presented a whole-scale reinvention not only of individual structures, but of entire concepts of modern living.

Le Corbusier’s work made distinct developments over the years, from early vernacular houses in Switzerland through dazzling white, purist villas to dynamic syntheses of art and architecture such as the chapel at Ronchamp and the civic buildings in Chandigarh, India. A hallmark throughout was his ability to combine functionalist aspirations with a strong sense of expressionism, as well as a broader and empathetic understanding of urban planning. He was a founding member of the Congrčs international d’architecture moderne (CIAM), which championed „architecture as a social art.“

This book presents some of Le Corbusier’s landmark projects to introduce an architect, thinker, and modern pioneer who, even in his unrealized projects, offered discussion and inspiration for generations to come.

About the series

Born back in 1985, the Basic Art Series has evolved into the best-selling art book collection ever published. Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Architecture series features:

an introduction to the life and work of the architect

the major works in chronological order

information about the clients, architectural preconditions as well as construction problems and resolutions

a list of all the selected works and a map indicating the locations of the best and most famous buildings

approximately 120 illustrations (photographs, sketches, drafts, and plans)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author
In 1997, the French Minister of Culture appointed Jean-Louis Cohen to create the Cité de l’architecture―a museum, research, and exhibition center in Paris’s Palais de Chaillot. Cohen’s research has focused principally on 20th-century architecture and urban planning, and his studies on German and Soviet architectural cultures. The author and curator of numerous books and exhibitions on architecture, he is an internationally acknowledged authority on Le Corbusier’s work.

Peter Gössel runs an agency for museum and exhibition design. He has published TASCHEN monographs on Julius Shulman, R. M. Schindler, John Lautner, and Richard Neutra, as well as several titles in the Basic Architecture series.