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Vernacular and Modern Architecture

Lessons from Corbusier

Chiko Ncube

Society today is so often seduced with glossy forms, machine aesthetics and the

grandeur of modern buildings driven by the architectural press. Traditional narratives

of architectural history lead us to believe that grand palaces, monuments and places

of worship were the only significant buildings of their time.

Neglected by these approaches are the buildings which are in fact, the most

pervasive of any period. Buildings sheltering ordinary people built by those with no

architectural training but were more concerned with fulfilling their needs and what

was suitable to their climate. It is such buildings we can call Vernacular.

Society continues to credit “Magazine Architecture”, the kind that makes a fashion

statement and wins critical acclaim for star architects, while disregarding vernacular

architecture, the unself-conscious product of culture that strives to do none of these

things. This research report shows a different perspective to vernacular architecture,

by analysing the vernacular influence in Le Corbusiers‟ life, one of the most

influential and admired modern architects of the twentieth century.

The author aims to show how these modest and architecturally unremarkable and

primitive buildings influence the development of Corbusiers modern designs as well

as to provide a new interpretation of the relationship between the vernacular and the

modern.

Fig.1 Le Corbusier

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Modern Architecture

Modern architecture evolved less than a century ago. Its task was to reconcile an

idealized vision of society and to rediscover the „true‟ path to architecture. It was

about creating architecture that embodied the ideals of a distinct supposedly modern

age. This encompassed the works of architects who lost confidence in tradition and

rebelled against it. They believed the traditional forms of architecture, and daily lives

were becoming outdated, thus modern architecture became the creation of an

authentic style, a „contemporary‟ style, making drastic breaks from the past and

suiting the needs of a modern industrialized society. The notion of „antiquity‟

therefore became increasingly implausible.

Fig.2

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Vernacular Architecture

For the purpose of this research, the term „vernacular‟, will be defined in a more

general sense, as embracing ethnic, folk, regionalist and primitive.

Vernacular architecture reflects the environment, culture and historical context in

which it exists. Vernacular forms are considered primitive and unrefined forms of

design, not commonly seen as architecture, yet these primitive forms comprise a

large percentage of the worlds built environment.

Fig.3

In the midst of these dogmatic versions of machinism, this „primitive‟ architecture

became a major inspiration and driving force for modern architectural designs. Many

acclaimed modern architects studied and analysed vernacular forms and its culture,

including aspects of the vernacular in their designs.

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Modern Architects influenced by the Vernacular:

Louis Khan (1901 – 1974)

Louis Khan was one of the most significant and influential American Architects. The

post war architect was deeply interested in the Mediterranean and its culture and this

played a pivotal role in shaping his growth as an architect.

He captured the use of natural light and materials, as well as the employment of

permanence and the understanding of communal spaces. This is shown in

monuments such as the Salk institute and the Kimbell art museum.

Fig.4 Louis Khan Travel Sketch

Josep Lluis Sert (1902 – 1983)

Sert was one of Spain's greatest modern architects, noted for his work in city

planning and urban development. Throughout his career, Sert investigated the

vernacular forms of the Mediterranean and manipulated them into his own modern

design projects

Fig.5 Fig.6

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Sedat Hakki Eldem (1908 – 1988)

Eldem acted as a major catalyst in the development of Turkish modern architecture.

He found inspiration in the Turkish vernacular, integrating elements of this vernacular

with his functionalist vocabulary.

Fig.7 Fig.8

Le Corbusier (Charles Edouard Jeanneret-Gris 1887-1965)

Le Corbusier‟s connection to vernacular forms covers an even longer span than

most modernists. His fascination forms a continuing thread throughout his lengthy

career. Corbusier was a pioneer in the modern movement, producing a series of

architectural masterpieces, renowned villas and theoretical urban schemes. His

strong intellectual discipline and a refinement for forms led him to the introduction of

new architectural devices such as the Modular and the five points of architecture.

Amongst other major industrial influences, Le Corbusier was deeply moved and

inspired by the vernacular of south Eastern Europe (the Balkans) which he

encountered on his Journey to the East in 1911.

The buildings which we can call vernacular, only began to be seen as worthy of

study within the last half century, with the publication of Bernard Rudofsky‟s

Architecture without Architects in 1964, as well as the accompanying exhibition at

the Museum of Modern Art in New York. By taking an interest in the vernacular

buildings on his Journey in 1911, Le Corbusier then known as a young Charles

Jeanneret was therefore ahead of time. The formative role of this voyage d‟Orient is

evident in his work thereafter. It is only natural therefore, to ask what the role of the

vernacular played in the modernist architecture of Corbusier.

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Research Methods:

Research Question

How did the vernacular buildings studied during the Journey to the East influence the

development of Corbusiers modern designs and principles?

Methodology

The author will focus on two quintessential moments in Le Corbusiers life:

1). The „Voyage d‟Orient‟ (Journey to the east) in 1911. This was the central

experience of the vernacular in Le Corbusiers youth.

The emphasis will be on:

- How the vernacular forms in the East directly influenced Corbusiers designs

and architectural principles.

2).The design of the modernist icon, the Villa Savoye at Poissy in 1928.

The emphasis will be on:

- How the vernacular played a role in the design process of the Villa Savoye.

- How this influence helped form Corbusiers strong beliefs in reconnecting an

industrialized society with nature and finding a new form of sacred for the

sceptical world of the twentieth century west.

Secondary Research – Books and Texts

This expedition taken by Corbusier is one of the best documented periods of his life.

His articles on the journey were published regularly in the Chaux-de-Fonds

newspaper La Feuille d‟Avis in 1911 and his sketchbooks from the journey have

been translated into many languages.

1). Ivan Zaknic translated and edited Jeanneret‟s publication in the book „Journey to

the East‟ (1987). In this research report, the author shall use this book as a main

reference for the analysis of Corbusiers sketches and notes.

2). Publications with Corbusiers early works and the modern icon Villa Savoye

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Part 1: Voyage d‟Orient (Journey to the East, 1911)

The first powerful manifestation of this lifelong interest is recorded in his 1911 travel

notes and sketches from his trip to the East of Europe, also known as the orient. For

Corbusier, this was not the same grand tour taken by nineteenth century men, who

travelled with trunks full of books, servants, valets and interpreters. He ventured

beyond the conventional itinerary with his backpack and one companion Auguste

Klipstein, an art student he met in Berlin. Together, they set out from Germany, to

their first stop in Prague, through Austria to Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria,

Turkey, Greece and Italy.

Fig.9 Map of journey taken by Jeanneret 1911

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Before Corbusier went on this trip, he had embarked on various study tours to places

such as Florence, Siena and Ravenna. His main influence at that time was Charles

L‟Eplattenier (1874- 1946), Le Corbusier‟s Professor and mentor at the La Chaux de

Fonds art school. L‟ Eplattenier was conversant with the natural landscape,

mountains and his ambition was to create a regionalist style and art movement.

Corbusier started his trip with a keen interest in landscape and in his travel accounts,

he writes about his love affair with the river Danube, as he travels from Vienna to

Belgrade.

The solitude is incredible. For hours at a time there is nothing to be seen to the left or

the right but a line of trees along the horizon, tiny in the distance and blue in the

light.1

For Corbusier, the horizon and stretches of water were a huge inspiration for him.

The power of the horizontal is later referred to as part of his modern design

philosophy. This concept is shown in the La Tourette monastery, France 1957.

Fig.10 Sketch of the river Danube

Fig.11 Xenakis, Corbusiers La Tourette Monastery

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Corbusier had a belief in finding something original and pure, and this reflected

philosopher Jacques Rousseau‟s theories which concerned the natural man and

basic life. This attitude is shown when he searched through Hungary in the town of

Baja, for the perfect archetypal vase and folk art that remained untouched by the

western industrialized civilisation. He found this traditional art to be without

constraint, the most expansive and the most beautiful.

The art of the peasant is a striking creation of aesthetic sensuality. If art elevates

itself above the sciences, it is precisely, because, in opposition to them, it stimulates

sensuality, awakening profound echoes in the physical being. It gives to the body-to

the animal-its fair share and then, upon this healthy base conducive to the

Expansion of joy, it knows how to erect the noblest columns. 2

One of the dominant features of Le Corbusiers modernism was its visual simplicity.

Whitewash was used regularly on the walls of the rural houses in Turnovo, Bulgaria

seen on Corbusiers journey, and this act was pivotal in the creation of this stripped

down, pure and original aesthetic. For Le Corbusier, the colour white represented

something pure, new, and modern, a view also taken by modernist Adolf Loos.

Corbusier links this vernacular architecture without ornamentation as superior and

harmonious.

Whitewash exists wherever peoples have preserved intact the balanced structure of

a harmonious culture… In the course of my travels I found whitewash wherever the

twentieth century had not yet arrived. 3

Le Corbusier saw the whiteness of the vernacular houses and the original folk art, as evidence of a true architectural authenticity, and of architecture which had grasped the fundamentals of the discipline without even realizing it as part of that discipline. He acknowledges that the untutored builders did not need knowledge of „architecture‟ or a theoretical framework, in order to create beauty in their built forms. Le Corbusier developed a deep respect for the creators of the vernacular forms, and believed that a high degree of sophistication could be found in cultures which had remained untouched by Western influence. He writes telling his friend Leon Perrin that „we others from the centre of civilization, are savages‟, in comparison to the „peasants‟ he met in small Serbian villages.

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Sketches made on the journey to the east were mainly of small rural dwellings, and

Corbusier used these dwellings as architectural precedents. He was inspired by the

Turkish and Ottoman dwellings, in terms of their interior organisation around their

central hall, their simple spaces, massing and blank street facades. These

vernacular qualities surface in his early built work – for example the Villa Schwob

(1916) shows how Corbusier uses simple profiles, bold masses and takes the street

as a baseline.

Fig.13 Sketch of house in Vienna Fig.14 Villa Schwob 1916 – simple, bold massing

Fig.15 Sketch of Inclined Street in Istanbul Fig.16 Villa Schwob 1916 – Street entrance

Continuing his description on the „folk‟ houses, Corbusier singles out balconies and

terraces as „charming small places‟ , where „ men sit on sofas and quietly smoke‟.

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He describes a unique quality of this space where one can enjoy being inside and

outside at the same time

..opened out onto a wide wooden balcony, a true example of construction on piles […]. The vine branches over the ancient pergola […], like the painted trellis over the house illuminated from below by hanging lanterns, were rippling in the night air […]The hill stretched down toward the sea, and from a high suspended terrace […] we caught a glimpse of the sea, framed by the nervous architecture of a wooden trellis covered entirely with vines whose clusters of blue and golden grapes hung heavily down. 4 He describes pergolas, balconies and terraces, spaces which fuse the interior and

exterior. These are shown as „summer rooms‟, loggias and terraces in his designs,

such as the Villa Stein (1927) also named „Les Terraces‟, which takes visitors on a

spatial journey between the inside and outside. He also explores the architectural

promenade which links internal rooms with external terraces and roof gardens in his

earlier designs, the Villa Jeanneret-Perret (1912).

Fig.17 Sketches of Balcony and elongated terrace

Fig.18 Villa Stein, 1927 showing roof terrace

Le Corbusier is credited for his poetic play of light and shadow in the chapel of Notre

Dame du Haut, as well as his interplay of curves and rectangles in many of his well

known designs. These qualities are the defining characteristics of the vernacular

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architecture and therefore it is to the Istanbul mosques we find the important source

for the collision of form, light and shadow which was so crucial in Le Corbusier‟s

modern designs.

Fig.19 Analysis Sketches showing light and shadow of Istanbul mosques

Fig.20 Sketch of Suleymanie Mosque 1557 Fig.21 Geometric composition of Villa Savoye

Le Corbusier admired the vernacular (folk) culture, and continued to value it as a

primitive equivalent to machine form. He identified with archetypal objects in his

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journey to the east, primitive, simple, honest objects that show the heart and nature

of its culture

Part 2: Villa Savoye (1929)

Le Corbusier‟s discoveries from the vernacular are found evident in the Villa Savoye

at Poissy (1929). The Villa is considered by many, as the icon of modern architecture

and a masterpiece of Corbusier‟s purist design. The design features include the

modulor design, “pilotis”, roof garden, and ribbon windows providing openness and

light.

Fig.22 Villa Savoye at Poissy 1929

The Author shall look at three main elements in the Villa which show the quality of

this vernacular experience.

1). Architectural glazing

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Corbusier uses glazing to define the entrance space of the villa. The glass can be

viewed as a standardized industrial glazing widely used commercially. Corbusiers

sketches of the Orient show his fascination with boundaries, particularly the wall. He

was interested in the way the wall forms transitional and threshold spaces between

the inside and outside (Fig 23).The glazing around the entrance to the villa can be

viewed as blurring the boundary between the exterior and the interior of the villa.

Fig.23 Sketches showing entrances and wall

Fig.24 Villa Savoye – entrance glazing

2). The Ramp

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Corbusier uses an ordinary, industrial ramp in the villa as a means of main

circulation. The ramp takes the visitor through a journey of inside and outside

spaces, an architectural promenade. The ramp shows how Corbusier attempts to

reinforce a „sacred‟ sense that one has not yet arrived, evoking ceremonial ramps as

those in the Oriental mosques he came across.

Fig.25 Sketches showing Journey and inclined street

Fig.26 Villa Savoye- ramp inside and outside

She opens the door that leads to the terrace and goes up the ramp towards the roof

garden...She appears to be moving from the inside of the house to the outside, to the

roof garden but this outside is again constructed as an inside with a wall wrapping

the space in which an opening with the proportions of a window frames the

landscape 5

3) Wash Basin

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One of Le Corbusiers‟ principal aims was to bring reconciliation between nature and man. The Journey to the east exerted an important influence towards this. In the Radiant City, he wrote that „we will learn from the savages, from men close to nature, who the academies have not touched‟. This shows his belief that the ideal architectural form with which he credits the vernacular builders, was rooted in their connection with the natural environment. A sketch drawn of a „water temple‟ built into the side wall of a house; show Corbusiers‟ interest in bringing nature (sacred water) into the domestic setting. The washbasin placed in the entrance of the Villa (Fig 28), suggests the ablutions of rituals taken in a mosque. The act of washing your hands before entering held for Le Corbusier, connotations of cleanliness, rebirth and initiation. This shows Corbusiers attempt to reconnect nature with the modern.

Fig.27 Sketch showing water temple

Fig.28 Villa Savoye- interior, sink

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Le Corbusier finds in the Journey to the East, a spiritual richness and a sense of self

affirmation. Voyage d‟Orient was more decisive for him than schools and teachers.

Corbusier became acquainted with the traditional and the spontaneous, the

masterpieces of learned architecture, constructions in landscapes, human scale and

the mastery of light. The orient helped Corbusier formulate his own goals, and it was

because of this experience that he decided to be an architect.

“How painful was the ecstasy that seized us in those temples of the East! How Withdrawn I felt, overcome by shame. Yet the hours spent in those silent sanctuaries inspired in me a youthful courage and the true desire to become an honourable builder.” 6

Le Corbusier left Western Europe in search for the exotic, the primitive, and he found

it in the orient. The travels to the east opened wide horizons and exposed him to an

immense new social and visual culture.

Folk culture is a magnificent creation. An achievement purified by time and

number...Folk culture is so powerful that we all immediately respond to it; it offers the

broadest channel for the expression of the mind and the heart. Whether Tartar,

Romania, Scandinavian, Negro, or Bavarian, it holds past ages within itself. 7

Fig.29 Sketches if mosques and city of istanbul

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Through pure and simple forms without nonessential decoration with a close

connection with nature and the nature of the society, a new kind of architecture

capable of rediscovering its original and sacred meaning, as in vernacular

architecture could be born. Can one reinvent a symbolic meaning in a society which

has lost a symbolic mode of thought, and to what extent can we question Corbusiers

approach to the „Orient‟?

Western contact with eastern countries have often been theorized and defined as an

idealized vision through the pre-existing fantasies of the visitors‟ imagination.

Corbusier admits that he had to work at experiencing the Vernacular tradition, “most

of all I wanted to love this place.” He knew what he wanted to see and clearly had a

case of a pre-existing notion of the culture. However, the purity and beauty of the

vernacular forms and culture in the east helped Le Corbusier create a new modern

aesthetic as well as inspiring him to reconnect with the nature in his own society.

In spite of this, Le Corbusiers attempt to instil a new modern and secular sense of the sacred and traditional based on his impression on non-western cultures still poses some challenging questions still relevant in our own contemporary context.

Bibliography

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Primary sources:

Architectural Monographs 12, Russel F.(1987).Le Corbusier, Early Works by Charles

Edouard Jeanneret-Gris. London: Academy Editions

Baker G.H. (1996). Le Corbusier – The Creative Search, (The Formative years of

Charles Edouard Jeanneret). London: E & FN Spon, Chapman & Hall

Stovall T; Van Den Abbeele G .(2003). French civilisation and its discontents,

nationalism, colonialism and race, United States of America: Lexington Books

Zaknic I, Pertuiset N .( 1987). Le Corbusier, Journey to the East. Cambridge MA : MIT Press ,First published as Le Voyage d’Orient, ed. by Jean Petit (Paris: Forces Vives, 1966)

Secondary sources:

Dummett E, Journey of Discovery, E-sharp Issue

Dunnett J.I, Le Corbusier, The Decorative Art of Today. (1987). London: The

Architectural Press , First published as L’Art décoratif d’aujourd’hui (Paris: Editions

Crès, 1925)

Curtis.W.J,.(2008). Le Corbusier, the life of Forms

Notes

1. Journey to the East pg .35

2. Journey to the East pg.15

3. Le Corbusier, Decorative art pg189

4. Journey to the East pg 179

5. Dwelling as a figure of thought by hans corneliss

6. Journey to the East pg xiv

7. Le Corbusier, The decorative art of today, 36

Picture Appendix

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Fig.1 - http://images.google.co.uk/images?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-

8&rlz=1T4SNYK_en-GBGB296GB296&q=le%20corbusier&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

Fig.2 - http://images.google.co.uk/images?um=1&hl=en&rlz=1T4SNYK_en-

GBGB296GB296&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=Adolf+loos+muller+

house&spell=1

Fig.3 - Personal Photos, Ladakh Himalayas

Fig.4 - http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&rlz=1T4SNYK_en-

GBGB296GB296&resnum=0&q=Louis%20kahn%20travel%20sketch&um=1&ie=UT

F-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Fig.5 -

http://www.barcelona.com/barcelona_city_guide/museums_barcelona/joan_miro_fou

ndation

Fig.6 -

http://www.barcelona.com/barcelona_city_guide/museums_barcelona/joan_miro_fou

ndation

Fig.7 - http://images.google.co.uk/images?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-

8&rlz=1T4SNYK_en-

GBGB296GB296&q=sedad%20hakki%20eldem%20social%20security%20agency&

um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

Fig.8 - http://images.google.co.uk/images?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-

8&rlz=1T4SNYK_en-

GBGB296GB296&q=sedad%20hakki%20eldem%20social%20security%20agency&

um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

Fig.9 - http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-

8&rlz=1T4SNYK_en-GBGB296GB296&q=europe+map

Fig.10 – Le Corbusier The creative Search pg 149

Fig.11 - http://images.google.co.uk/images?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-

8&rlz=1T4SNYK_en-

GBGB296GB296&q=La%20Tourette%20monastery&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

Fig.12 - Personal Photo

Fig.13 – Le Corbusier The creative Search pg 140

Fig.14 – Le Corbusier, early works by Charles Edouard Jeanneret, pg 44

Fig.15 – Journey to the East pg 163

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Fig.16 – Le Corbusier, The creative search pg 92

Fig.17 - Le Corbusier, The creative search pg 37

Fig.18 - http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-

8&rlz=1T4SNYK_en-GBGB296GB296&q=villa+stein

Fig.19 - Journey to the East pg 102

Fig.20 – Journey to the East pg 148

Fig.21 – Le Corbusier, The creative search pg 37

Fig.22 - http://images.google.co.uk/images?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-

8&rlz=1T4SNYK_en-GBGB296GB296&q=Villa%20Savoye&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

Fig.23 – Le Corbusier, The creative search pg 155

Fig.24 - http://images.google.co.uk/images?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-

8&rlz=1T4SNYK_en-GBGB296GB296&q=Villa%20Savoye&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

Fig.25 – Journey to the East pg 12

Fig.26 - http://images.google.co.uk/images?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-

8&rlz=1T4SNYK_en-GBGB296GB296&q=Villa%20Savoye&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

Fig.27 – Journey to the East pg 112

Fig.28 - http://images.google.co.uk/images?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-

8&rlz=1T4SNYK_en-GBGB296GB296&q=Villa%20Savoye&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

Fig.29 – Le Corbusier, the Creative search pg 163