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 city is a tool for living.
The house is a tool for living, a machine for living in.
The spirit of the new age is a spirit of construction and synthesis.
The architect's task is to create order out of chaos.
The city must be a place of beauty and efficiency.
The machine is a tool for human liberation.
The house is a shelter, a refuge, a place of intimacy.
The architect is a sculptor of space.
The city is a living organism, constantly evolving.
The straight line is the line of man.
The house should be a place of joy and well-being.
The architect is a poet of concrete and steel.
The city must be a place of order and harmony.
The machine is a symbol of the new age.
The house is a place of peace and contemplation.
The architect is a visionary, a prophet of the future.
The city must be a place of light and air.
The straight line is the line of reason.
The house should be a place of comfort and convenience.
The architect is a master of proportion and scale.
Contemporaries of Le Corbusier
Other Architectures born within 50 years of Le Corbusier (1887–1965).