A Report On Le Corbusier s Esprit Nouveau, And Several...

If one were to travel back to Paris in its immediate post-WW1 years, one would find a growingly dissatisfied architect made anxious by his surroundings. All around Le Corbusier, engineers were making their presence felt through rapid innovation of technology and industry, whilst architecture seemed to be mired in a state of stagnation. As he watched this chasm grow between his profession and the push for progress, he felt compelled to express his criticisms on the contemporary state of affairs, as well as the bold, comprehensive vision he himself carried for the future. He did so through essays in his magazine L’Esprit nouveau, and several of these were collected and published as a book in 1923 titled Vers une architecture (literally Towards an Architecture though mistranslated as Towards a New Architecture in the English edition of 1927). A manifesto of the architect’s ideas for a reconsideration of the house as well as the way to build it, it proved hugely influential in its time and undoubtedly played in part in shaping the development of architecture. We approach the question with the assumption that the book was indeed relevant owing to the word ‘still’ within its phrasing. Thus, it is useful to investigate the nature of its relevance at its time of publication almost a century ago. A major reason for the widespread reception of Le Corbusier’s ideas can be found in his country’s social conditions during the interwar years. Towards a New Architecture was launched into