Le Corbusier - Pavillon Suisse : the biography of a building = Biographie d'un batiment

Planned in 1930/31 in extremely difficult circumstances, it is a minor miracle that the Cité Internationale Universitaire Swiss halls of residence, when built, so closely resembled Le Corbusier's original innovative design. The Pavillon Suisse has accommodated Swiss students in Paris since it was opened in July 1933. This monograph is the result of years of dedicated research into every aspect of the building - socio-political premises, planning, design and construction, the aesthetic and functional achievements it represents, and Le Corbusier's own renovations in 1948, 1953 and 1957. It is the first comprehensive portrait of one of Le Corbusier's most imaginative creations. The author, Ivan Zaknic, Professor of Architecture at Lehigh University and Visiting Fellow of Princeton University is a prominent Le Corbusier expert. Pavillon Suisse was the first modern building within Cite Universitaire, and it is highly innovative, both technically and aesthetically. The idea of a dormitory for students that would provide both privacy and community, born of a close study of medieval monasteries and of ideals for a "Radiant City," was part of Le Corbusier's life-long quest to devise a collective "machine for living." Founding, designing, funding, constructing, and maintaining this Swiss House on French soil was marked by crises in authority, autonomy, and fiscal responsibility that mirrored the problems of Europe herself.At a time when national identity was often associated with picturesque nationalist or regionalist influences, Pavillon Suisse was dismissed by many as insufficiently ennobling and distinctive. Along with Villa Savoye, and Centrosoyuz, Immeuble Clarte and Cite de Refuge, this building made Le Corbusier into a world figure. However stormy its early reception, Pavillon Suisse now enjoys the status of a protected historic monument.This monograph by Ivan Zaknic is the result of a decade of archival research on Pavillon Suisse and a careful reconstruction of all its design phases. It is the first book-length study of this truly seminal building. Planned in 1930/31 in extremely difficult circumstances, it is a minor miracle that the Cit Internationale Universitaire Swiss halls of residence, when built, so closely resembled Le Corbusier s original innovative design. The Pavillon Suisse has accommodated Swiss students in Paris since it was opened in July 1933. This monograph is the result of years of dedicated research into every aspect of the building - socio-political premises, planning, design and construction, the aesthetic and functional achievements it represents, and Le Corbusier s own renovations in 1948, 1953 and 1957. It is the first comprehensive portrait of one of Le Corbusier s most imaginative creations. The author, Ivan Zaknic, Professor of Architecture at Lehigh University and Visiting Fellow of Princeton University is a prominent Le Corbusier expert. "This monograph by Ivan Zaknic is the result of a decade of archival research on Pavillon Suisse and a careful reconstruction of all its design phases. It is the first book-length study of this truly seminal building."--Jacket