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Book Review:Comprehending Le Corbusier
United Kingdom Architecture News - Apr 20, 2015 - 12:19 6375 views
Le Corbusier Ideas and Forms, published by Phaidon
A new edition of William J R Curtis’s book Ideas and Forms digs into the detail behind notorious 20th-century architect Le Corbusier's visions.
Le Corbusier, the great 20th-century architect, still exerts influence over our lives, 50 years after his death. Even Kanye West has felt the force, crediting a Le Corbusier lamp, in a 2013 interview with the New York Times, as a major inspiration behind his album Yeezus. “I would go see actual Corbusier homes in real life,” continued the rapper, having given the lamp its due, “and just talk about, you know, why did they design it?”
Le Corbusier and atelier, Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp, France 1951–54. The outdoor chapel and altar in front of the east facade.Picture:www.phaidon.com/lecorbusier
If Kanye’s still keen (doubtful given his mercurial ways), his people really should get in touch with William J R Curtis, an architectural historian, who’s spent more time considering this question than most. In 1986, Curtis published a weighty tome called Ideas and Forms that delved deeply into the Corbusian vision. Now 30 years later, he’s given the project a dramatic overhaul and the result – Ideas and Forms (new edition)– is now in a bookshop near you, its handsome red cover bearing the even handsomer price of £100......Continue Reading
Les Heures Claires, the Villa Savoye, Poissy, France, 1928–29. View across the meadow to the southwest facade, showing the colour scheme as it was in 1984. William J R Curtis.Picture: www.phaidon.com/lecorbusier
> via telegraph.co.uk/luxury/