Unit 3 - Contextual and Cultural Referencing in Art and Design: Essay

Essay: Le Corbusier and Arne Jacobsen

Le Corbusier

Charles Edouard Jenneret or as we all know him better as Le Corbusier was born in 1887. Being only seventeen, Le Corbusier designed his first building. At the same age, were he was still young; he made his first trip to Italy. Moving to Paris in 1916 was his idea to practice and design architecture. When he moved to Paris, Charles Edouard Jenneret adopted his name as Le Corbusier where at the same time he published and edited ‘L’Esprit Nouveau’.

Le Corbusier

Many of Le Corbusier’s projects have never been done due to some sort of financial reasons. One of these projects is the palace of the League of Nations. Le Corbusier believed that home is a ‘machine for living’ where it should include functional furniture. It was this belief where he was inspired to design his iconic tubular steel furniture.

Palace of League of Nations

During his career as an architect and a designer, Le Corbusier produced a series of proposals. His proposals included city plans and two housing types which were the basis for his career as an architect and a designer. These are ‘Maison Monol’ and the ‘Maison Citrohan’ which is also referred to as “machine of living”.

Maison Monol Sketch

Maison Citrohan

Le Corbusier was one of a group of architects to design the United Nations Headquarters in New York which the Secretariat building is Le Corbusier’s design. Another building in which Le Corbusier is famous to is The Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp.

United Nations Headquarters

As Ramzi Naja has quoted on his blog ‘Le Corbusier was the influence to other architects. He created a system based on human body where he created a relationship between human and architecture. He also influenced urban living.’ - [Ramzi Naya 2010]. Le Corbusier taught the world how to design modern buildings yet historical. His designs were clean and simple but very effective.

Today’s designers appreciate every design, every building, every detail of Le Corbusier but his houses and public buildings are more appreciated by residents and visitors. Every space Le Corbusier designed is being valued and cherished by every person throughout different generations starting from the Chapel at Ronchamp to the Unite d’Habitation in Marseille.

Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp

Unite d'Habitation, Marseille

Villa Savoye

LC3 1 Chair

Chaise Lounge

Arne Jacobsen

Mentioning how influenced he was to other architects and designers, Le Corbusier influenced Arne Jacobsen. Arne Jacobsen, born in 1902, was an architect and a designer of furniture, textiles, lighting, wallpaper and silverware. Being also influenced by Gunnar Asplund and Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, Arne Jacobsen has welcomed a new functionalist approach from the outset.

Arne Jacobsen

His most well common known works are the design and the furniture of the SAS Air Terminal in Copehagen and the SAS Royal Hotel, where he designed every detail starting from ashtrays to airport shuttle bus. The famous, yet elegant Swan chair together with the Egg chair are part of the sculptural furnishings that Arne Jacobsen designed for the SAS Royal Hotel amongst others. His designs were so pleasing that he was called “the punch card” as well as “the glass cigar box”.

One of the rooms of SAS Royal Hotel

Arne Jacobsen’s second most famous architectural building was the St. Catherine’s College at the Oxford University. There he designed everything starting from the dining room cutlery set to the species of fish for the ponds he designed himself.

St.Catherine's College

His independent success of his product designs was his goal. Being also an architect, he wanted to have all the control of a project and nothing was to be left to chance other architects. His designed buildings and products are such of high quality with their details that they have become part of the standard production. Many of his products have achieved the status of international success that has certainly helped his rise to certain heights. Throughout his career, Arne Jacobsen left a mark on different generations of architects, thus a very few of them have achieved the same fame as Arne Jacobsen did.

Today, Arne Jacobsen stands for some of his best works produced in the 20^th century. Having said that, today the Swan chair and the Egg chair, together with the Ant and the Butterfly chair stand as some of the best produced products which are still being custom made from international companies.