Reading Response Le Corbusier – April 4th, 2012

Media and Architecture – Reading Response, April 4^th, 2012

Although I have frequently heard about Le Corbusier, my knowledge about him was limited before reading the articles. In Vers une architecture – Toward an Architecture – Jean-Louis Cohen (1931) refers to Charles-Édouard Jeanneret – who named himself Le Corbusier – “as historian, critic, discoverer, and prophet” (ibid, p. 1). I was intrigued by Le Corbusier in particular since he goes beyond the tradition of architecture – being a visionary – inventing “a personal interpretation of the contemporary world, its culture, and its cities” (ibid, p. 4). Vers une architecture radicalized the viewpoint towards architecture and, above all, “ was an attempt to transcend the split between the values of the industrial age and those of classical culture […]” (ibid, p. 58). In addition, the publication aimed to transcend the relationship between individuals and architecture.

In this regard I believe that Walter Bejamin’s (1936) note, namely that “architecture has always represented the prototype of a work of art the reception of which is consummated by the collectivity in a state of distraction […]” (ibid, p. 239) is of great relevance. The medium architecture takes a special position within the arts since it also serves a pragmatic function. Beatriz Colomina (2002) – an architectural historian and theorist dealing with the relationship between architecture and media – challenges the manner of architectural criticism. Colomina regards the discussion about architecture and criticism as a tableau of various systems of representation, i.e. photographs etc. In addition, Le Corbusier edited many of his works and viewed architecture from a conceptual point of departure. Le Corbusier abandoned the Villa Schwob from its surrounding transforming “architecture into an object relatively independent of place” (Colomina, 1987, p. 12). Thus, Le Corbusier differentiated between architecture’s practical function and architecture as an art which probably mostly will be viewed within a different medium which builds a bridge to Benjamin who also refers to architecture as an art which is viewed in distraction if not presented within a different medium, i.e. film. The latter I find the most interesting part of Le Corbusier who always envisioned the entire picture.