Le Corbusier, 1922-1965
Public Life
Like a romantic symphony, Le Corbusier’s mature work starts off with exquisitely harmonious passages and then grows in an exciting crescendo full of surprises. Vincent Scully takes us through each movement without losing sight of the intimate connection that ties them together. From the ethereal frivolity of the houses on piles to the titanic weight and contained violence of his last works, the author examines Le Corbusier’s work both as a whole, and piece by piece.
This is a daunting moment to be asked to write a critical assessment of Le Corbusier’s mature work. One cannot write about it now quite as one could in 1961. His urbanism, for example, cannot help but be judged as faulty in conception and highly destructive in practice, especially as we have seen it more or less universally carried out in American redevelopment and the French «New Towns», not to mention at Chandigarh itself, at Brasilia, and elsewhere...[+]
