26 – Le Corbusier – 1 – Have Formwork, Will Travel

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!

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