Remembering Le Corbusier

130 years ago Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, later known as Le Corbusier, was born. The Swiss-French architect was a pioneer of what is now called Modern Architecture. His career spanned five decades and his designs were built in Europe, Asia and America.

Le Corbusier was influential in urban planning too, dedicated to improving living conditions for inhabitants of large cities. He prepared the master plan for the city of Chandigarh in India. Some of Le Corbusier’s projects are part of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Lars Müller Publishers has published several books featuring the work of Le Corbusier – also his lesser-known projects. Le Corbusier realized 40 books in his lifetime. The publication Architect of Books – available in English, French and German – traces the process by which these books emerged.

In LC FOTO: Le Corbusier Secret Photographer Tim Benton reflects on the famous architect’s use of photography. The book provides dramatically new insights into Le Corbusier’s visual imagination, his changing attitudes towards nature and materials in the 1930s and his distrust of progress. Le Corbusier’s Pavilion for Zurich uses numerous handwritten documents, drawings and papers to trace the history of Le Corbusier’s last built work. This book explains for the first time the significance of the pavilion, which differs strongly from the beton brut of Le Corbusier’s late work.