Applique de Marseille wall lamp, grey

Le Corbusier (1887–1965), born Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, was a Swiss-born architect, theorist and designer who became one of the most influential modernists of the 20th century.

His thinking left a deep mark on 20th-century urban planning – particularly on functionalist housing districts and city renewal projects. His legacy extends beyond architecture into the world of design.

Le Corbusier – the radical reinventor of modern architecture

Le Corbusier – born Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris – was a Swiss-born architect, designer, artist, writer and urban planner, best known as a pioneer of functionalism and modernist architecture. He first used the pen name Le Corbusier, a riff on his maternal grandmother's surname Lecorbésier, in 1920 in his own journal, L'Esprit Nouveau.

At 13, Le Corbusier enrolled at the École d'Art in La Chaux-de-Fonds, where he began by studying the enamelling and engraving of watch faces before turning to painting and architecture. He designed his first house at 17, travelled widely across Europe on study trips, and worked for, among others, Auguste Perret and Peter Behrens. During the First World War, he also taught at his former school. Those early encounters with concrete construction and industrial architecture would prove decisive for everything that followed.

Five principles and the machine for living

Le Corbusier's architecture was shaped by his celebrated five points: raising the building on pilotis, the free floor plan, the independent façade, horizontal ribbon windows, and the roof garden. Together, these principles were his manifesto for liberating architecture from its traditional constraints.

He famously regarded buildings as machines for living in. The idea sounds cold, but behind it lay a genuinely idealistic impulse: light, air and space for everyone, not just the few. His most influential built works include Villa Savoye (1929–1931), Unité d'Habitation in Marseille (1947–1952), the city of Chandigarh in India (1954), and the Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp (1955).

Design and proportion

Beyond architecture, Le Corbusier also turned his hand to furniture – most notably in collaboration with Charlotte Perriand and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret. His best-known design pieces include the LC4 Chaise Longue and the LC2 armchair, both manufactured by Cassina, as well as the Lampe de Marseille lights by Nemo Lighting.

He also developed the Modulor system – a scale of proportions based on human body measurements and the golden ratio, designed to bring the built environment into harmony with the human scale.

Who: Le Corbusier

• Swiss-French architect and designer (1887–1965), born Charles-Édouard Jeanneret.
• A central theorist of modern architecture; developed both the five points of architecture and the Modulor proportional system.
• In 2016, seventeen of his buildings were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
• Notable buildings: Villa Savoye, Unité d'Habitation and the Chapel of Ronchamp.
• Notable products: LC4 Chaise Longue, LC2 armchair (Cassina), Lampe de Marseille lights (Nemo Lighting).

Want to read more about Le Corbusier and his work? Browse our selection of books:

• Le Corbusier
• The Design Book

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