Le Corbusier's Grand Ideas

Few designers have been as fêted, derided, and ultimately influential as Le Corbusier. Primarily an architect, Le Corbusier believed that the correct application of modern materials and building methods could deliver better living conditions, and ultimately a better quality of life for the residents of crowded cities.

Given this laudable aim, it is perhaps ironic that Le Corbusier’s ideas lie behind the tower-block housing estates typically associated with a less-than-optimum quality of life.

Le Corbusier’s grand ideas didn’t stop at the sixtieth floor; his goal was to build an entire city, usually after demolishing the existing one. Several urban developments, including Brasilia (the capital of Brazil), and the Barbican Estate in London