Le Corbusier Works Named as UN World Heritage Sites

Le Corbusier was a Swiss-French architect, painter, designer, writer and urban planner, widely considered as one of the forefathers of modern architecture. Corbusier was born in Switzerland and moved to France in 1930. His five-decade career is worth exploring as it included structures which are present across Europe, Japan, India and North and South America.

These locations exhibit how Modern Movement architecture was used to acclimatize to societal necessities and show the breadth of a style and an architect’s work.

Works by Le Corbusier on UN World Heritage Sites

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added 17 projects by revolutionary modernist architect Le Corbusier to their list of World Heritage Sites in seven nations. The designation, which is given to areas of particular cultural or physical significance, will assist to protect and preserve the structures for future generations. UNESCO praised the collection of proposals for “[representing] the solutions that the Modern Movement tried to apply over the twentieth century to the challenges of devising new architectural approaches to react to the requirements of society,” citing Le Corbusier’s imaginative architectural vocabulary.

In a statement, Foundation Le Corbusier President Antoine Picon said, “The inscription on the World Heritage List of 17 buildings and sites by Le Corbusier represents a strong encouragement to continue all along Le Corbusier’s built work to maintain this living heritage and to hand it down to future generations.” “It also aids in the comprehension of that complicated and delicate legacy and its distribution to the broadest possible audience.”

Together, the seventeen sites offer an extraordinary response to some of the most pressing concerns in architecture and society in the twentieth century. All were original in how they reflected new notions, all had a tremendous impact across broad geographic areas, and they collectively propagated Modern Movement ideals around the world. Despite its diversity, the Modern Movement was a significant sociocultural and historical institution of the twentieth century, and it has largely retained the foundation of architectural culture in the twenty-first. In response to the challenges of contemporary society, the Modern Movement intended to create a unique global forum of ideas, generate a new architectural language, update architectural techniques, and address the social and human demands of modern man from the 1910s through the 1960s. All of these issues are addressed admirably throughout the series.

 The following are some important sites:-

La Roche Villa

In 1923–1925, Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret designed Maison La Roche, a residence in Paris. It was created for Raoul La Roche, a Basel-based Swiss financier and avant-garde art collector. The Fondation Le Corbusier is now housed in Villa La Roche. La Roche hired Le Corbusier to design both a mansion and a gallery to house his art collection.

The Lake Villa

Also known as the Villa “Le Lac” Le Corbusier, it is a house structure on Lake Geneva in Corseaux, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, built for Le Corbusier’s parents between 1923 and 1924 by Swiss architects and cousins Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret. It is a domestic Modern structure that incorporates three of Le Corbusier’s Five Points of Architecture. In 2016, the building was listed to the UNESCO World Heritage List as a Swiss Cultural Property of National Significance.

The Weissenhof Estate 

It is a housing complex in Stuttgart, Germany, designed for the 1927 Deutscher Werkbund exposition. It served as an international showcase for modern architecture’s goal of providing affordable, simple, efficient and high-quality dwelling.  As part of The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement, two buildings created by Le Corbusier were named a World Heritage Site in 2016. The Site’s buffer zone includes the remainder of the Estate, as well as some nearby streets and structures.

Philosophy of Le Corbusier

He argued for:

• The Pilotis- It is a grid of columns that can be used to replace load-bearing walls and allow architects to maximize floor space.
• Due to the lack of load-bearing walls, free floor layouts resulted in flexible living areas that could adapt to changing lifestyles.
• Le Corbusier developed Domino House, a modular house inspired by the burgeoning car industry. How an early car was placed as the basis model for future car designs attracted Le Corbusier. Each car would be a perfected version of the one before it, resulting in a line of similar but forward-thinking vehicles. “A house is a living machine,” says Le Corbusier of structures.
• The open plan was a structural marvel intended at creating a blank canvas for a designer’s imagination.
• A stairway leads up to the uppermost slab in The Roof Garden-The Domino. This approach demonstrates Le Corbusier’s desire to make use of the roof. The building, according to Le Corbusier, must compensate for the land it occupies. The incorporation of nature into the design environment is a very important feature that revitalizes one’s spirit.

Conclusion

Thus, the addition of these sites to the list is a ground breaking step. Previously, archaeological sites, ancient ruins and natural wonders made up the majority of the UNESCO World Heritage List. In 2016, 17 concrete structures were also added to the list which is designed by Le Corbusier. The structures are located in seven different nations. By popularizing the use of toughened solid columns and freeing up roof space for gardens, the renowned Swiss-French architect initiated a new ground in modern architecture.