Le Corbusier

Introduction & Top Questions
Education and early years
The first period
The war years
The second period

Quotes References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Le Corbusier seated at a desk in a suit and bow tie, holding a pen and looking to the side, with an open book in front of him.

Le Corbusier: Assembly building in Chandigarh

Figure 114: Church of Notre-Dame-du-Haut, Ronchamp, Fr., by Le Corbusier, 1950-55.

Savoye House, Poissy, Fr., an International Style residence by Le Corbusier, 1929–30

At a Glance

Le Corbusier summary

Quizzes

Close-up of a palette held by a man. Mixing paint, painting, color mixing.

Artists, Painters, & Architects

Hagia Sophia. Istanbul, Turkey. Constantinople. Church of the Holy Wisdom. Church of the Divine Wisdom. Mosque.

Architecture: The Built World

"Deux Fantassins Casques (Two Helmeted Infantrymen)" Roger de La Fresnaye, 1917. Pen and black ink with wash, 30.8x19.4 cm

Cubism: Art and Artists

Related Questions

How did Amédée Ozenfant influence Le Corbusier’s art and architecture?
How did Andrea Palladio’s architecture influence Le Corbusier?
How did Le Corbusier become an architect without formal architectural training?
How did Le Corbusier’s city plans combine skyscrapers with parks and gardens?
How did Mediterranean architecture influence Le Corbusier’s use of geometry and light?
How did World War II affect Le Corbusier’s architectural work?
How did ancient Greek sites influence Le Corbusier’s ideas about proportion?
How did concrete sunshades shape Le Corbusier’s buildings in Chandigarh?
How did the Charterhouse of Ema influence Le Corbusier’s ideas about housing?
How did the League of Nations competition affect Le Corbusier’s public reputation?
How did the Swiss Dormitory in Paris show a change in Le Corbusier’s architectural style?
How did the chapel of Notre-Dame du Haut at Ronchamp differ from Le Corbusier’s earlier functional designs?
How did watchmaking influence Le Corbusier’s early education?
What arguments did Le Corbusier make in Toward a New Architecture?
What did Le Corbusier mean by the phrase “a house is a machine for living in”?
What furniture did Le Corbusier design with Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand?
What happened to Le Corbusier in 1965?
What ideas did Le Corbusier and Amédée Ozenfant present in Après le cubisme?
What ideas from Le Corbusier’s architecture influenced Brutalism?
What is Le Corbusier famous for in architecture and city planning?
What is a brise-soleil and how did Le Corbusier use it at the Unité d’Habitation?
What shared services were included in the Unité d’Habitation in Marseille?
What was L’Esprit Nouveau and what role did Le Corbusier play in it?
What was Purism and how did it shape Le Corbusier’s work?
What was the purpose of Le Corbusier’s Pavilion of the New Spirit in Paris?
When did Le Corbusier begin working with Pierre Jeanneret?
Where was Le Corbusier born and raised?
Which features make Villa Savoye an important example of modern architecture?
Which places did Le Corbusier visit during his early travels through Europe and the Mediterranean?
Who was Charles L’Eplattenier and how did he guide Le Corbusier?
Why did local officials refuse to provide a public water supply to Le Corbusier’s Pessac housing development?
Why was Le Corbusier’s League of Nations design rejected from the competition?
Why is Le Corbusier important?
What is Le Corbusier famous for?
How was Le Corbusier educated?
What did Frank Gehry do to his house?
How did Antoni Gaudí die?
Is Antoni Gaudí on the path to sainthood?
What is Antoni Gaudí famous for?
How was Antoni Gaudí educated?
What was Antoni Gaudí’s family like?
Why is Antoni Gaudí so famous?

Visual Arts Architecture

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External Websites

ABC listen - By Design - Le Corbusier: the architect, the man
UNESCO World Heritage Convention - The architectural work of Le Corbusier an outstanding contribution to the modern movement inscribed on the unesco world heritage list
The Art Story - Biography of Le Corbusier
UNESCO World Heritage Convention - The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement
The Met - Le Corbusier
BBC - The man who changed the way we live
Artnet - Le Corbusier
Fondation Le Corbusier - Le Corbusier
Independent - The legacy of Le Corbusier

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Le Corbusier - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Le Corbusier

Swiss architect

Also known as: Charles-Édouard Jeanneret

Written by

Françoise Choay

Professor of Urban Studies, University of Paris VIII. Author of Le Corbusier and others.

Françoise Choay

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 2, 2026 •History

Le Corbusier (born October 6, 1887, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland—died August 27, 1965, Cap Martin, France) was an internationally influential Swiss architect and city planner, whose designs combine the functionalism of the modern movement with a bold sculptural expressionism. He belonged to the first generation of the so-called International school of architecture and was their most able propagandist in his numerous writings. In his architecture he joined the functionalist aspirations of his generation with a strong...

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