Le Corbusier
Pioneer of modern architecture
Most quoted
"The architect, by his arrangement of forms, realizes an order which is a pure creation of his spirit; by forms and shapes he affects our senses to produce plastic emotions; by the relationships which he creates, he awakens in us profound echoes, he gives us the measure of an order which we feel to be in accordance with that of our world, he determines the various movements of our heart and of our understanding; it is then that we experience the sense of beauty."
— from Towards a New Architecture, 1923
"Architecture is the masterly, correct, and magnificent play of masses brought together in light. Our eyes are made to see forms in light; light and shade reveal these forms; cubes, cones, spheres, cylinders, or pyramids are the great primary forms which light reveals to advantage; the image of these is distinct and without ambiguity. It is for this reason that these are beautiful forms, the most beautiful forms."
— from Towards a New Architecture, 1923
"Architecture is the masterly, correct and magnificent play of masses brought together in light. Our eyes are made to see forms in light; light and shade reveal these forms; cubes, cones, spheres, cylinders or pyramids are the great primary forms which light reveals to advantage; the image of these is distinct and without ambiguity. It is for this reason that these are beautiful forms, the most beautiful forms."
— from Towards a New Architecture, 1923
All quotes by Le Corbusier (365)
The curve is ruinous, difficult and dangerous. It is a paralyzing thing.
The house is a status machine.
We must start again from zero.
The city that has speed has success.
The problem of the house is a problem of the epoch. The equilibrium of society today depends upon it.
Eyes which do not see... Liners, automobiles, airplanes.
The 'Radiant City' is founded on the basic principles of modern town planning: the death of the street, the classification of traffic, the separation of pedestrian and vehicular circulation.
Man walks in a straight line because he has a goal and knows where he is going.
The materials of modern construction are concrete, iron, glass, fibro-cement, and rolled steel.
A cathedral is a very difficult problem, like a symphony; it is a matter of plastic emotion.
The past is our only real possession.
The house must not be a prison, but a palace of light and air.
The key is light, and light illuminates shapes and shapes have an emotional power.
Architecture is the expression of the true nature of our times.
The modern city lives by the straight line, inevitably; for the construction of buildings, sewers and tunnels, highways, pavements. The circulation of traffic demands the straight line.
A city made for speed is made for success.
The role of the wall is no longer to carry the floors but to light the rooms.
The human animal is a vertical creature.
The house is the direct expression of a way of life.
I am an architect and town planner. I am a revolutionary.
Contemporaries of Le Corbusier
Other Architectures born within 50 years of Le Corbusier (1887–1965).