We’re taking on the origin story of (for better or worse) the most important architect of the 20th century — Charles-Edouard Jeanneret aka Le Corbusier. His origins — petit bourgeois, Swiss, provincial — can make his eventual rise to world-enveloping notoriety and era-defining influence seem all the more unlikely. We’re digging into his childhood, family, education and travels as a young man before taking on a couple of early projects.

We discuss —

La Chaux de Fonds
Charles L’Eplattanier, his teacher
Jugendstil & Art Nouveau

Early projects —

Villa Fallet
Villas Stotzer & Jacquemet
Villa Jeanneret
Villa Favre-Jacot

Travels, and meetings with —

Otto Wagner
Josef Hoffmann
Vienna Secession Building
Auguste Perret
Rue Franklin Apartments
Peter Behrens
Mount Athos

And a more detailed look at —

Villa Schwob (including Colin Rowe’s ‘Mannerism and Modern Architecture’)
Maison Domino

We've been reading —

Nicholas Fox Weber ‘Le Corbusier: A Life’ (2008)
Jean-Louis Cohen ‘Le Corbusier: Le Grand’ (2014)
Oppositions 15-16 (1980)

Music —
The final part of Beethoven’s 9th — the Ode to Joy

An excerpt from — Mahler: Symphony No. 3: iii. Comodo. Scherzando. Ohne Hast from archive.org

Britt Brothers — ‘Alpine Milkman Yodel’ (1933) from archive.org

Thanks for listening!

We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org

26 – Le Corbusier – 1 – Have Formwork, W...