Le Corbusier

Happy Birthday Le Corbusier!! Born Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, the Swiss architect preferred to be called Le Corbusier, meaning the “raven-like one”. He was born in 1887 and is famous for being a pioneer of Modern Architecture. In his twenties Le Corbusier relocated to Paris and became a French citizen. His first architectural vision was the Dom-ino House and the open design utilizing modern materials became the basis for much of his work to follow. His buildings are found in Europe, India, Russian and North and South America. In addition to architectural design, he was also an influential urban planner, predicting the rise in automobile use; Le Corbusier envisioned apartment complexes set amidst small parks with roadways circling around. He wanted to avoid the over–crowding and filth involved in housing large groups of people in one spot. Notre Dame Du Haut (Le Corbusier’s Chapel) is located in Ronchamp. France. The unique building has a sculptural quality, made of rough white masonry, dark wood roof with windows randomly scattered throughout.