Le Corbusier

Architecture Swiss-French 1887 – 1965 365 quotes

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)

I hate the house.

Book 1923

The Modulor is the key to human measure.

Book 1948

Architecture is the crystallization of society.

Speech 1955

The sun is the master of life.

Book 1933

Form follows function, but function follows form.

Book 1923

The engineer is the architect of the future.

Book 1923

Beauty is the magnificent gift of God.

Interview 1959

The dwelling is the cell of the city.

Book 1947

I am not a theorist, I am a practitioner.

Letter 1930

The vertical garden is the future.

Speech 1950

Architecture must be beautiful.

Book 1923

The machine is the new monument.

Book 1929

Life is beautiful when organized.

Interview 1960

The window is the eye of the house.

Book 1923

Unity of plan, diversity of elements.

Book 1947

The city must be a place of joy.

Speech 1955

I design for the masses.

Interview 1933

The skeleton of the building is its truth.

Book 1923

Architecture is inhabited sculpture.

Book 1950

The future is in the air.

Book 1929