Talk:Le Corbusier

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Contents

[edit] Quote

We should include one of his most famous quotations, about a house being a machine for living in. -- Tarquin 17:15, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Look at the Wikipedia article Modernism. The section called "Modernism's reception and controversy" already has a reference to Le Corbusier's idea about houses being "machines for living in". Christopher Crossley 10:23, 4 May 2005 (UTC)
Right, but it is an important thing that was said that is attributed to Le Corbusier. The saying's relationship to Modernism comes from Le Corbusier. Markmtl 09:23, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Paris plan

I'm suprised not to see any images of Le Corbusier's plan for Paris. To me it's one of his most shocking and notable (if brutal) plans. [1] --Quasipalm 19:52, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] One for WikiQuotes

"Nothing is contradictory any more. Everything is in its place, properly arranged in order and hierarchy." I read it from "Introducing Modernism" by Chris Rodrigues and Chris Garratt. But I don't know where it was that Le Corbusier first said it.LionKimbro

[edit] World of Biography

I would like to add external link of his biography available at World of Biography It includes his life, quotations, chronology, list of publication and few sketches. --Kbi911 13:54, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

I have added the link --Kbi911 09:28, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] United Nations headquarters

Is there a reason why there is no mention that Le Corbusier was one of the designers of the UN HQ in New York? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 141.117.1.149 (talk • contribs) .

Yes, I'll add this now. The board of design consultants for the building, on which Le Corbusier served, selected one of his designs. jareha (comments) 07:03, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Death

I was surprised to see that this category existed: Category:Architects who committed suicide. It is possible to speculate that he walked into the waters knowingly (as the article says "against his doctor's orders") and therefore comitted suicide... what do you think? Include the category? --Blahm 01:28, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

According to Wikipedia:No original research, we are not to speculate. jareha (comments) 07:07, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] World of Biography

Hi, I would like to add an external link to the World of Biography entry (Le Corbusier Biography), probably the most famous portal of biography to this article. Does anybody have any objections? 17 Apr 2006 Raghuvir.

No objections from me. jareha (comments) 07:09, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] He didn't design National Mosque, Malaysia

Somebody's claiming he designed Masjid Negara (National Mosque) in Kuala Lumpur. I highly doubt it. The Badan Warisan Malaysia lists the designers as from the Public Works Department: Howard Ashley (lead), Hisham Albakri, and Baharuddin Kassim. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Straits-mongrel (talk • contribs) .

[edit] Intro format

Is there any reason why the image is aligned on the left, and the table of contents on the right? In my opinion it looks very cock-eyed at 1280x1024, and only marginally less so at 800x600. Most other biographical articles on Wikipedia do it the other way round, for good reasons I think. --RobertG ♬ talk 09:50, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

This has now been accounted for by recent changes: the image presumably on this page when you made the above comment since been deleted and I've moved the table of contents back to the left. jareha (comments) 06:37, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] An observation

I would like to say one word about something I've been thinking about lately. In an architecture and design forum, one participant claimed that Le Corbusier erred in his urban visions, and other times, in other places, he is blamed for buildings and urban works, built by others, which don't work or were even demolished as failures. Someone else pointed out to me, on the internet, an article about the Cabrini-Green neighborhood in Chicago, its malfunctionings and faults, implying Le Corbusier's (and maybe also Mies Van der Rohe's) ideas were to be held responsible. The Corviale building in Rome seems to have been inspired by Le Corbusier's theories, so his name gets brought up about that, and his ideas are often pointed at as failing. These are false and unjust accusations. Unfortunately, few of his many urban plans were actually constructed, such as the Pessac residential neighborhood, the Capitol in Chandigarh, and Firminy Vert. I was in Firminy, and I am glad that they finally completed St. Peter's church, because along with the stadium, the Unité d'Habitation, and the Cultural and Youth Center it forms a system of spaces and places that is harmonious, useful and beautiful. I wish that more of his plans of "urbanism" had been built, and I believe it would have been good for the inhabitants. If someone else has attempted to do that, whose intentions or capabilities were maybe not so elevated, it is another matter. Le Corbusier was battling (to no good use) when the Unité d'habitation in Berlin was being built with modifications to his drawings, and he reproached (as F. L. Wright did) also some epigons, when all they would do was take an element from his works formally and litterally witout interpreting the spirit and the sense. The Corviale building (to get back to the initilal examples, but there may be others), never was completed, had a very lacking management if not a lack of it, and then lived through particular adventures, with the several occupations that took place. If the Cabrini-Green complex has metallic grates enclosing the corridors that look quite uncomfortable, if an elevator breaks down and it doesn't get fixed for months or years, and if the trash accumulates and nobody takes care of it, Le Corbusier, Mies Van der Rohe, or modern architecture have nothing to do with that.

[edit] His Name/the status thereof

Can anybody confirm what the name we all know him by, "Le Corbusier", actually is; is it a nickname, a pen-name, or what? Certainly some of his books are attributed to "the crow" as being the author, rather than to "C-E Jeanneret". Does it have any official status (name change by deed poll equivalent etc?). Since wikipedia is frequently referred to by those writing essays/etc, this might be a useful topic to have clarification of. Like how 'Bucky' (R B Fuller) always gets mistakenly surnamed as Buckminster-Fuller. Graldensblud 14:00, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Incomplete sentence in the third paragraph

There seems to be a mal-formed sentence in the third paragraph of "Early life and education, 1887-1913": "He designed his earliest houses, such as the Villa Fallet, the In his early years he frequently would escape the somewhat provincial atmosphere... "

[edit] Genius

This article stresses technical criticisms of Le Corbusier's legacy, especially in the field of urban planning; what is missing is an assessment of his artistic achievement. Le Corbusier was a true polymath: he was a fount of original ideas in the cerebral spheres of construction and planning, as well as a tremendously creative sculptor of form. LC's early work was a pillar of early modernism, but his later works, like Beethoven's later quartets, transcend any stylistic categorisation. It is true that he erred, but it would have been surprising if otherwise, given the magnitude of his contributions. Any criticism of his ideas must bear in mind his fecundity and influence - in thought and in art. Tkeu 21:14, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

I agree. The article places far too much importance on urban planning, which is certainly a significant part of Le Corbusier's legacy, but not all of it. And it has been Le Corbusier's artistic side that has proved most enduring, even as his urban planning has been refuted. Demflan (talk) 02:24, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Politics and Late Works

This article does not begun to do justice to the range and breadth of Le Corbusier's work. In particular, something needs to be said about his later period, especially the Unite in Marseilles, the Ronchamp cathedral, and La Tourette monastery. It would also be useful to note his use of "beton brut" concrete and influence on Brutalism. There is also almost no mention of his work on Chandigarh, a project that occupied much of his postwar work and marked his most notable foray into monumentality. Finally, how does this article fail to mention the International Style even once?

On a different note, something should be said about Le Corbusier's politics in the 1930s. His involvement with the far right is well-documented. Demflan (talk) 02:11, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Documentation

The above editor brings up an excellent point: The documentation in this article is extremely lacking. Whole sections make claims without footnotes, and "Forays into urbanism" has been marked as needing more citations since January 2007 -- well over a year. Surely enough has been written, in print and online, about an architect as prominent as Le Corbusier that the statements in this article can be backed up with verifiable, reliable sources. --69.22.254.108 (talk) 10:26, 11 May 2008 (UTC)