"Le Corbusier" book - Taschen

Born Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, Le Corbusier (1887-1965) is widely acclaimed as the most influential architect of the 20th century. Applied to private residences as well as social housing, his radical ideas, creations and writings compose a total reinvention not only of individual structures, but also, more globally, of the way modern life is conceived. Le Corbusier's work has evolved over the years, from his first vernacular houses in Switzerland to the dynamic syntheses of art and architecture that make up the Ronchamp Chapel or the administrative city of Chandigarh in India, not to mention his breathtaking white and purist villas. The common thread running through these creations is his ability to combine functionalist aspirations with a sharp sense of expressionism, as well as a broader and more empathetic understanding of urban planning, since he was one of the founding members of the International Congress of Modern Architecture (CIAM), which advocated "architecture as social art". This book presents some of Le Corbusier's major projects to introduce an architect, thinker and pioneer of modernity who, even in his never completed projects, has provided material for debate and inspiration for generations to come.