LE CORBUSIER

CONTENTS

Biography
Early Life
Golden Ratio
Vitruvius Man
Le Corbusiers Relation With Golden Ratio and
Vitruvius Man
Ideals Of Le Corbusier
List of His Major Projects
Natore Dame Du Haut
Villa Savoye

BIOGRAPHY
Charles-douard Jeanneret, was better known
as Le Corbusier .
Born on
:- 6th October 1887.
Place
:- Switzerland.
Died on
:- 27 august 1965.
Nationality :- Swiss/French
Place
:-Roquebrune-cap-martin, France
Awards
:- AIA Gold medal(1961)

LE CORBUSIER
He was an architect, designer, urbanist,
and writer,
Famous for being pioneers of what is now
called modern architecture.
His career spanned five decades, with his
buildings constructed throughout Europe,
India and America.
Le Corbusier adopted his pseudonym in the
1920s .

EARLY LIFE
Le Corbusier was attracted to the visual arts and
studied at the La-Chaux-de-Fonds Art School.
He was greatly influenced by his teacher Rene
chapallaze.
About 1907, he travelled to Paris, where he found
work in the office of Auguste Perret, the French
pioneer of reinforced concrete.
Between October 1910 and March 1911, he worked
near Berlin for the renowned architect Peter Behrens

 Later in 1911, he
journeyed to
the Balkans and
visited Bulgaria, Greece
and Turkey.
He filled sketchbooks
with renderings of
what he saw, including
many famous sketches
of the Parthenon

EARLY CAREER: the villas, 19141930

Le Corbusier taught at his old school during World
War I.
From 1914-1918 in Switzerland, he worked on
theoretical architectural studies using modern
techniques.
Among these was his project for the Domino House
(19141915).
His design became the foundation for most of his
architecture for the next ten years.
he begin his own architectural practice with his
cousin, Pierre Jeanneret (18961967),

GOLDEN RATIO
Two quantities are in
the golden ratio if
the ratio of the sum of the
quantities to the larger
quantity is equal to the ratio
of the larger quantity to the
smaller one .
Expressed algebraically:- (a +b)/a =a/b =phi.
Where phi = 1.6180

Dividing each number in

fibonacci series by the
one which precedes it
produces a ratio which
stabilizes around
1.618034 known as
golden ratio.

THE VITRUVIUS MAN

The Vitruvius Man is a drawing created by Leonardo da
Vinci in 1487.It is accompanied by notes based on the work
of the architect, Vitruvius.
The drawing depicts a male figure in two superimposed
positions with his arms and legs apart and simultaneously
inscribed in a circle and square. The drawing and text are
sometimes called the Canon of Proportions or, less
often, Proportions of Man.
The drawing is based on the correlations of ideal human
proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman
architect Vitruvius.

 Vitruvius described the

human figure as being
the principal source of
proportion among the
Classical orders of
architecture.
Leonardo believed the
workings of the human
body to be an analogy
for the workings of the
universe."

Le Corbusiers Relation With Golden Ratio and

Vitruvius Man

Le Corbusier explicitly used the

golden ratio in his Modular
system for the scale of
architectural proportion.
He saw this system as a
continuation of the long tradition
of Vitruvius, Leonardo da Vinci's
"Vitruvius Man", the work of Leon
Battista Alberti, and others who
used the proportions of the
human body to improve the
appearance and function of
architecture.
Le Corbusier also based the
system on human measurements,
Fibonacci numbers, and the
double unit.

 He took Leonardo's suggestion of the golden ratio in

human proportions to an extreme: he sectioned his
model human body's height at the navel with the
two sections in golden ratio, then subdivided those
sections in golden ratio at the knees and throat; he
used these golden ratio proportions in the Modular
system.
Le Corbusier placed systems of harmony and
proportion at the centre of his design philosophy
used these golden ratio proportions in the Modular
system.

IDEA OF LE CORBUSIER
Le Corbusier invented the domino system of housing.
Five basic principle which he followed always are as
follows:

Pilotis
Roof gardens
The free plan
Ribbon window
The free facades

The best example is villa savoye.

MAJOR PROJECTS

1905: Villa Fallet, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

1908: Stotzer House, 6, Chemin de Pouillerel, la Chaux-de-Fonds,
Switzerland.
1912: Villa Jeanneret-Perret, La Chaux-de-Fonds
1916: Villa Schwob, La Chaux-de-Fonds
1922: Villa Besnus (Ker-Ka-R), Vaucresson, Paris, France
1922: Ozenfant House and Studio, Vaucresson, Paris. ( much altered.)
1923: Villa La Roche/Villa Jeanneret, Paris
1924: Pavillon de L'Esprit Nouveau, Paris (destroyed)
1924: Quartiers Modernes Frugs, Pessac, France
1925: Villa Jeanneret, Paris
1926: Villa Cook, Boulogne-sur-Seine, France

 1926: Villa Ternisien, 5, Allee des Pins, Boulogne-sur-Seine,

Paris. ( Block of apartments built over the house.)
1927: Villa Stein, Garches, Paris.
1927: Pleinex House, 24, Bis Boulevard Massena, Paris 13e.
1927: Villas at Weissenhof Estate, Stuttgart, Germany
1928: Voiturn Minimum Automobile
1928: Villa Savoye, Poissy-sur-Seine, France View on the map
1929: Cit du Refuge, Arme du Salut, Paris, France
1930: Pavillon Suisse, Cit Universitaire, Paris
1930: Maison Errazuriz, Chile
1930: Las Nubes, house of Uruguayan novelist Enrique
Amorim (Salto, Uruguay)

NATOR DAME DU HAUT

Location :- Ron champ
(France)
Affiliation :- roman catholic
Organizational status :Pilgrimage Chapel
Architectural type :- chapel
Completed on :- 1955
Material used :- concrete

HISTORY
was thought of as a more extreme design of Le
Corbusiers late style.
the chapel is a simple design with
two entrances,
a main altar, and
three chapels beneath towers.

building is small, it is powerful and complex.

the latest of the chapels present at the site.

Previous chapel was completely destroyed

there during World War II.
The previous building was a 4th century
Christian chapel.
The new building was being constructed but.
Corbusier wasnt exactly interested in
Machine Age architecture.
He felt his style was more primitive and
sculptural, so he decided to build something
more interesting.

SITE
The site is high on a hill
near Belfort in eastern
France.
After the war, it was
decided to rebuild on
the same site.

STRUCTURE

made mostly of concrete and is comparatively small.

enclosed by thick walls.
with the upturned roof supported on columns embedded
within the walls.
the interior, the spaces left between the walls and roof
and filled with clerestory windows.
asymmetric light from the wall openings.
lighting in the interior is soft and indirect, from the
clerestory windows and reflecting off the whitewashed
walls of the chapels with projecting towers.
structure is built mostly of concrete and stone, which
was a remnant of the original chapel.

 The main part of the

structure consists of
two concrete
membranes separated
by a space of 6'11
forming a shell which
constitutes the roof of
the building.
The roof, both
insulating and
watertight, is supported
by short struts,

 walls without buttresses follow, in plan, are

curvilinear in forms provide stability to
rough masonry.
A space of several centimeters between the
shell of the roof and the vertical envelope of
the walls furnishes a significant entry
for daylight.
The floor follows the natural slope of the hill.
Certain parts, in particular the interior and
exterior altars rest, are of beautiful white
stone .

The towers are

constructed of stone
masonry capped by
cement domes.
The vertical are
surfaced with mortar
and white-washed both on the interior and
exterior.
The concrete shell of the
roof is left rough,

 Water tightness is effected by a built-up roofing

with an exterior cladding of aluminium.
The interior walls are white; the ceiling grey;
the bench of African wood created by Savina;

THE SOUTH WALL

The South wall Rather than designing a straight,
50 cm thick concrete piece, Le Corbusier tried to
perfect the outside partition.
wall starts as a point on the east end, and expands
to up to 10 feet thick its west side.

 It curves towards the south as it move.

The windows wall was extraordinary.
The openings slant towards their centers at
varying degrees, thus letting in light at
different angles,
The glass that closes them off is set at
alternating depths.
The glass is clear but decorated with stained
glass.
Le Corbusier decided not to make the
southern partition a bearing wall

ROOF
The roof of Notre Dame appears to float above the
walls.
Because it is supported by concrete columns, not the
walls themselves.
The effect produced allows a strip of light to enter
the building, thus lighting the space
roof was planned to slope toward the back
fountain is placed on the ground.
In rains the water comes pouring slanted concrete
structures, creating natural fountain.

SECTION

VILLA SAVOYE
Type :Villa
Architectural style :Modernist, International
Address :- 82, Rue de
Villiers,78300 Poissy
Town or city :- Poissy,
Yvelines
Country :- France
Coordinates:- 4855'28?N
21'42?E

 Construction started :1928

Completed :- 1931
Renovated :- 1963, 19851997
Technical details
Structural system :Reinforced concrete
Design and construction
Owner :- French
government.

ABOUT THE VILLA

The site was on a green field.
Brief prepared by owner for a summer house, space
for cars, an extra bedroom and a caretaker's lodge.
Corbusier had such freedom with the job that he
was only limited by his own architectural palette.
The only concern was regarding cost.
This problem was to reduce the volume of the
building by moving the master bedroom down to the
first floor and reducing the grid spacing down from
5 meters to 4.75 meter.

 The Villa Savoye is probably Corbusier's best known

building from the 1920s, it had enormous influence
on international modernism.
The Villa Savoye is a wonderful demonstration of Le
Corbusier's 'five points of a new architecture', which
he developed in 1927, exploiting the new
opportunities of reinforced concrete:

ACCORDING TO FIVE PRINIPLES

THE PILOTIS (supporting
columns):- 'The house
on pilotis!
The house is firmly driven
into the ground - a dark
and often damp site.
The reinforced concrete
gives us the pilotis.
The house is up in the air,
far from the ground: the
garden runs under the
house...'

 THE ROOF GARDENS: '...the

garden is also over the house,
on the roof.
Reinforced concrete is the new
way to create a unified roof
structure. Reinforced concrete
expands considerably. The
expansion makes the work
crack at times of sudden
shrinkage.

Instead of trying to evacuate the rainwater quickly, endeavor

on the contrary to maintain a constant humidity on the
concrete of the terrace and hence an even temperature on the
reinforced concrete.

One particular protective measure: sand covered with thick

concrete slabs, with widely spaced joints; these joints are
sown with grass.'

 FREE PLANE: 'Until now: loadbearing walls; from the ground

they are superimposed,
forming the ground floor and
the upper stories, up to the
eaves.
The layout is a slave to the
supporting walls. Reinforced
concrete in the house provides
a free plan.
The floors are no longer
superimposed by partition
walls. They are free.'

 THE HORIZONTAL
WINDOW: 'The window is
one of the essential features
of the house.
Progress brings liberation.
Reinforced concrete
provides a revolution in the
history of the window.
Windows can run from
one end of the facade to the
other.'

 THE FREE
FACADES: 'The columns
set back from the
facades, inside the
house.
The floor continues
cantilevered. The
facades are no longer
anything but light skins
of insulating walls or
windows. The facade is
free.'

 Corbusier was able to carefully design all four

sides of the Villa Savoye in response to the view
and the orientation of the sun.
On the ground floor he placed the main
entrance hall, ramp and stairs, garage, chauffeur
and maids rooms.
At first floor the master bedroom, the son's
bedroom, guest bedroom, kitchen, salon and
external terraces.
The salon was orientated to the south east whilst
the terrace faced the east.

PLANS

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

 The son's bedroom faced the north west and the kitchen and
service terrace were on the south west.

At second floor level were a series of sculpted spaces that

formed a solarium.

The plan was set out using the principle ratios of the Golden
section. in this case a square divided into sixteen equal parts,
extended on two sides to incorporate the projecting faades
and then further divided to give the position of the ramp and
the entrance.

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

TERRACE PLAN

ELEVATIONS AND SECTIONS