Charles-Édouard Jeanneret was a French architect during the 20th century. He was born in Sweden in 1887 where he spent most of his early life. However, in 1930, he changed his nationality and became a French citizen. He was an urban developer, architect, writer, designer and painter (Lang, 1994).
It is through his remarkable designs that he received his nickname, Le Corbusier that was a rather annoying resemblance to his ancestor. Despite the fact that he did not like the name, Charles decided to keep his nickname. Le Corbusier career lasted five decades from the early 1900s to late 1950s. In the course of his career, he was able to design several buildings in Europe, North America, South America, India and Russia (Barnerjee, 2011). It is through his remarkable designs that many scholars refer to him as the father of modern architecture.
Throughout his career, Le Corbusier experienced a lot of achievement. Le Corbusier finished his studies just after the end of the First World War. During this time, he taught at his old school. However, he spent much of his time practicing the theory of architecture. He presented his ideas through plans and models.
Just before the onset of the first world war, he teamed up with his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret to start an architectural firm that would last up to the 1950s (Barnerjee, 2011). They also formed a studio for painting and photography in France during the early 1920s. However, Le Corbusier grand debut came about in 1922 when he presented a solution of increased number of city dwellers in the cities of France.
The French officials had for a long time experienced the problem of increased population from the individuals of the lower class. This problem had led to the growth of slums within the cities. Le Corbusier presented a model of cell like houses that could be built on top of one another to create more space. In addition, this design allowed for each cell to have a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and living room. This allowed for more people to live decently in a small area. This design is still in use up to the present moment.
At the same, Le Corbusier presented a contemporary city model to the government of France that would accommodate approximately three million people. This model comprised of a city with huge skyscrapers covered with glass, steel-framed office building, residential areas, a transportation hub including an airport, a train station and a bus terminus, recreation facilities and many other accessories.
Although not all of these were adopted but most modern contemporary models for many other cities in the world adopted this model. It is due to these works and many others that Le Corbusier was regarded as the father of modern architecture. In 1961, he was awarded with the Frank P. Brown medal for his hard work (Moos, 2009).
Due to his achievements, it will be an honour to write a book on such an individual. He is the pioneer of modern architecture. Most of his styles and designs are still being used up to the present moment. The buildings that he designed are of great historical value. Some of them serve as monuments of the cities in which they are found in. It will therefore be essential for many people to have more information of the individual behind these designs and ideas. This can only be achieved by writing a book that details his life, personal life and career.
References
Barnerjee, T. (2011).Companion to Urban Design. Boston: Taylor & Francis
Lang, J. (1994).Urban Design: The American Experience. Manhattan: John Wiley and Sons
Moos, S. (2009). Le Corbusier: Elements of a Synthesis. New York: 010 Publishers