Le Corbusier, UNESCO World Heritage

The famous Franco-Swiss architect, Charles Edouard Jeanneret-Gris (1887-1965), better known under the pseudonym "Le Corbusier," was recently recognized by UNESCO. One year after the fiftieth anniversary of his death, seventeen of his works were added to the organization's World Heritage of Humanity list, ten of which are located in France.

The Result of a Ten Year Collaborative Effort

The inscription of Le Corbusier's works to the World Heritage list is the fruit of collective effort ten years in the making. The defining feature of this candidacy, which was first put forth by France, is its international dimension, bringing together seven different countries (Germany, Argentina, Belgium, France, India, Japan, and Switzerland).

An Avant-Garde Architect

A visionary in his time, Le Corbusier's creations rarely leave audiences unmoved or indifferent. Even today, Le Corbusier remains one of the most well-known architects in the world, a precursor to a new wave of modern architecture. The city was his favorite playing field, and concrete, his preferred material.

His works, brought into being over the course of half a century, bear witness to a new conception of architecture breaking with the past.

France was his principal location of expression, and is thus home to ten of the works on UNESCO's list - including one of the most well-known, the Cité Radieuse in Marseille. Le Corbusier designed it to seem like an actual village, with a commercial street, a school, a gym, and even terraces for residents to admire the sea views.

Le Corbusier's works on the UNESCO World Heritage List in France:

  • Maisons La Roche et Jeanneret, Paris, Ile de France (1923)
  • Cité Frugès, Pessac, Aquitaine (1924)
  • Villa Savoye et loge du jardinier, Poissy, Ile de France (1928)
  • Immeuble locatif à la Porte Molitor, Boulogne-Billancourt, Ile De France (1931)
  • Unité d'habitation "La Cité Radieuse", Marseille, Provenza-Alpes-Costa Azul (1945)
  • Manufacture à Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, Lorena (1946)
  • Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut, Ronchamp, Franco-Condado (1950)
  • Cabanon de Le Corbusier, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Provena-Alpes-Costa Azul (1951)
  • Couvent Saint-Marie-de-la-Tourette, Eveux , Rhône-Alpes (1953)
  • Maison de la Culture de Firminy, Rhône-Alpes (1953)

An Internationally Renowned "Artist"

Le Corbusier's work also attests to the globalization of architectural practices on a global scale, with seventeen buildings on three different continents: Europe, mainly, with its works in Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland; South American (Argentina); and Asia, with works in both India and Japan.

Seven UNESCO works across the world:

  • Petite villa on the banks of Lake Geneva, Corseaux, Vaud, Switzerland (1923)
  • Maison Guiette, Anvers, Flanders, Belgium (1926)
  • Maison de la Weissenhof-Siedlung, Stuttgart, Bade-Wurtemberg, Germany (1927)
  • Immueble Clarté, Geneva, Switzerland (1930)
  • Maison du Docteur Curutchet, La Plata, Buenos-Aires Province, Argentina (1949)
  • Complexe du Capitole, Chandigargh, Punjab, India (1952)
  • National Museum of Western Fine Arts, Taito-Ku, Tokyo, Japon (1953)