3. Textual Heresies Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg ...

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
3. Textual Heresies
Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, 1962-64
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
“This drawing is an early manifestation of what was to become an evolving obsession: the
dialectical and tensioned interplay of the figure with the Cartesian grid, which appears in his
earliest Purist paintings and continues throughout his career, evolving from a two-dimensional
figures to three-dimensional figures.”
Le Corbusier, Sketch of Parthenon
Can you see the figural / Cartesian elements in the
drawing to the left?
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Francis Bacon
According to Eisenman, what is the difference between figuration and figural?
“…the human figure no longer presents itself as a discrete, clear form, but rather resides in
what can be called an undecidable relationship with the canvas...”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Maison Dom-ino, 1914
Can you see the cartesian and figured elements in the two images above?
Still Life
1920
“If cubist painting was marked by a tension between the frontal picture plane and spatial depth,
Le Corbusier’s architecture strained to both incorporate and overcome the tenets of frontal and
flattened cubist space in a three-dimensional matrix.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Maison Dom-ino, 1914
What does Eisenman mean when he says ‘critique of architecture’s relationship to the ground?”
Le Corbusier’s 5 Points
Free plan
Free façade
Roof garden
Pilotis
Ribbon windows
“The primitive foundation blocks in the place of pilotis initiate a critique of architecture’s
relationship to the ground...”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Giambattista Nolli, The Nolli Map, 1748, Rome, Italy
Think about the figure/ground relationship in these drawings.
“…figure in architecture had always been tied to the ground, so much so that it was defined as a
figure/ground relationship.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Le Corbusier, Villa Savoy, 1927-30, Poissy, France
Can you see the ‘figured condition in the circulation” in the right sketch?
“…develop the diagram offered in his ‘Five Points,’ and introduce a more strongly figured
condition in the circulation.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Vila Savoy, 1927-30, Poissy, France
“The ramp as a figured element creates and registers a kind of vortex of centrifugal energy.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Le Corbusier, Villa Stein, Garches,
1927-30
Can you see the dialectical relationship Eisenman is discussing?
“In these early works, the figured elements are implicated in a dialectical relationship to the
abstract grid of the buildings’ plan, facades, and section.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Le Corbusier, Villa Stein, Garches, France, 1927-30
“In these early works, the figured elements are implicated in a dialectical relationship to the
abstract grid of the buildings’ plan, facades, and section.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Ronchamp, France, 1950
How are these buildings fundamentally different from Corbusier’s earlier work?
Philips Pavilion, Belgium, 1958 Chandigarh, India, 1953-65
“In Ronchamp, the Philips Pavilion, and Chandigarh, fully three-dimensional figures stand out
against the grid, yet the grid remains legible.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Le Corbusier, Ronchamp, 1950
“The square punctures in the façade register a tension between an implied vertical grid and the
sloping wall, as if the holes were tethers maintaining the wall’s curve.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Le Corbusier, Ronchamp, France,1950
“The square punctures in the façade register a tension between an implied vertical grid and the
sloping wall, as if the holes were tethers maintaining the wall’s curve.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Le Corbusier, Parliament Building at Chandigarh, 1953-65
Consider the different figures in the building above.
“If the prewar work demonstrates the linear figure becoming increasingly three-dimensional, it
could be argued that Le Corbusier’s postwar work begins with the fully articulated figure, which
is increasingly deformed into a series of partial figures.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Le Corbusier, Villa Stein (1927-30) and Parliament
Building at Chandigarh (1953-65)
How are the facades similar above? How do the facades differ? What are the different readings you can pull from the two?
“…departure from the planar, free façade...’”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Le Corbusier, Chandigarh, Harvard’s Carpenter Center, and La Tourette
“…departure from the planar, free façade...’”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Le Corbusier, La Tourette, France,1950-60
Can you see the rotational energy?
“La Tourette can also be related to Strasbourg by means of a rotational energy established by
the pinwheeling organization of its lower floors.’”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Le Corbusier, La Tourette, France,1950-60
“La Tourette can also be related to Strasbourg by means of a rotational energy established by
the pinwheeling organization of its lower floors.’”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Palais des Congres
What are the centrifugal forces in this drawing, or how are
they evident?
Can someone point out a drawing in the chapter that gives
the sense of centripetal?
“Unlike the rotation on the entry façade of La Tourette…the rotation developed at Strasbourg is
no longer dialectical with respect to any frontal plane, but rather registers simultaneously as
centripetal and centrifugal in plan and section.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
La Tourette, Carpentter Center
Palais des Congres
What of Le Corbusier’s Five Points are
still evident in the Carpenter Center?
“Despite the contradictory internal movements at the Carpenter Center…it could be argued that
each component is articulated as a separate figure.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Villa Savoy and Villa Stein
Explain the statement below using the two buildings above. What is the link between a ‘diagram’ and ‘text’ for Eisenman?
“The centrality of the ‘Five Points’ in Le Corbusier’s prewar work suggests that the points
served as a foundational diagram from which each building draws, but inflects differently.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Palais des Congres
“…on the one hand in its didactic refutation of each of the ‘Five Points,’ and on the other in its
movement away from a dialectical relationship between figure and grid.”
Pilotis
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Palais des Congres
Ribbon Window
“…on the one hand in its didactic refutation of each of the ‘Five Points,’ and on the other in its
movement away from a dialectical relationship between figure and grid.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Palais des Congres
Free Plan
“…on the one hand in its didactic refutation of each of the ‘Five Points,’ and on the other in its
movement away from a dialectical relationship between figure and grid.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Palais des Congres
Free Façade
“…on the one hand in its didactic refutation of each of the ‘Five Points,’ and on the other in its
movement away from a dialectical relationship between figure and grid.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Roof Garden
“…on the one hand in its didactic refutation of each of the ‘Five Points,’ and on the other in its
movement away from a dialectical relationship between figure and grid.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA
Palais des Congres

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Palais des Congres
Roof Garden
“…on the one hand in its didactic refutation of each of the ‘Five Points,’ and on the other in its
movement away from a dialectical relationship between figure and grid.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Palais des Congres Third Floor Palais des Congres Fourth and Fifth Floors
Eisenman says that Corbusiers postwar work questions the ‘wholeness’ of the figure. What does this mean? Where do you see
this at Palais des Congres-Strasbourg?
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
How is the figure/ground relationship inverted?
La Tourette, France
Palais des Congres
“…many of the relationships established in La Tourette and the Carpenter Center are inverted.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Chandigarh, India
Palais des Congres
How is the figure/ground relationship inverted?
“…many of the relationships established in La Tourette and the Carpenter Center are inverted.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Chandigarh, India
How is the free plan/ free façade relationship inverted?
La Tourette, France
“…many of the relationships established in La Tourette and the Carpenter Center are inverted.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA
Palais des Congres

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Carpenter Center
How is the surface of the roof garden relationship inverted?
Palais des Congres
“…many of the relationships established in La Tourette and the Carpenter Center are inverted.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Carpenter Center
How is the circulation relationship inverted?
Palais des Congres
“…many of the relationships established in La Tourette and the Carpenter Center are inverted.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
La Tourette, France
How is the circulation relationship inverted?
Palais des Congres
“…many of the relationships established in La Tourette and the Carpenter Center are inverted.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Palais des Congres
Can you explain how Strasbourg is a departure from the grid/figure dialectic?
“The figure assumes a different role at Strasbourg in that it is no longer defined in relationship
to the grid.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Farnsworth House
What does Eisenman mean by ‘breaching the container?’
Palais des Congres
“The subject becomes involved not only in the figural ramp but also in the breaching of the
container...”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Palais des Congres
“…the object is no longer merely contained in the volumetric enclosure but rather a series of
forces push the object out through the exterior enclosure of the object, while the movement of
the subject continues to circumscribe the volume.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Villa Savoy, France
Palais des Congres
“Strasbourg shifts the idea of understanding from seeing to the experience of movement.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Palais des Congres
“What becomes visible in the Strasbourg project as a pivotal development of Le Corbusier’s
thought is the new figural condition of the subject’s experience of the object.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Maison Dom-ino
Palais des Congres
Koolhaas, Il Jussieu Library Competition
“This building offers a missing link between the formal strategies of the high modernist ‘Five
Points’ and those apparent in Rem Koolhaas’s Tres Grande Bibliotheque and Jussieu
Libraries.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA

Lecture 4: Le Corbusier, Palais des Congres-Strasbourg, France,1962-64
Koolhaas, Il Jussieu Library Competition
Palais des Congres
“The discontinuity between successive horizontal plan levels at Strasbourg will ultimately
appear in Koolhaas’s Delirious New York and his French library projects.”
S. Hambright Drawing Canonical Ideas in Architecture
UofA
Koolhaas, New York Athletic Club