1. Notre Dame du Haut.
A bold, twisted interpretation of Church architecture, this building takes grandeur in an entirely unexpected directly.
Despite the unconventional appearance, there’s something very religious about the building’s solidity and the way it stretches towards the heavens.
2. The Palace of Assembly.
A legislative assembly, this building is Corbusier’s greatest example of his understanding of the inexplicably beautiful whole that can be created by combining disparate forms.
3. Mill Owners Association Building.
A surprisingly peaceful, integrative building, the MOA building incorporates itself into the foliage around it. The gentle rise to the building entrance encourages occupancy, and the slanted window frames soften the light inside.
4. Sainte Marie de la Tourette
A small priory that houses nuns and monks, the building is one of Corbusier’s boldest. Cutting into the soft French countryside, it looks as though an enormous spacecraft landed and took root.
This was Corbusier’s last building in Europe and is more like a fortress than anything resembling a place of worship.
5. Saint-Pierre.
Begun in 1971, this building wasn’t finished until 2006, six years after Le Corbusier’s death. It was originally designed as a church, but later became a high school and safety shelter.
The way the building balances different forms show a maturity in Corbusier’s sense of style. The interior of the building plays with specks of light against it minimal, bare walls.
6. Maison de la Culture
One of Corbusier’s often-overlooked masterpieces, the aggressive peak of the building hangs over the first set of windows.
An impressive, daunting façade that tilts towards the ground.
Cité Frugès, Pessac
A surprisingly humble contribution by Corbusier, this building is the perfect representation of his famous phrase ‘a building is a machine for living in.’
8. United Nations Headquarters, New York.
Building for the United Nations is no easy task, requiring a balance of poise, solidarity, rigidity and humanity. Corbusier went for a then-confronting mass of blue-tinted glass windows, almost unbroken.
The building is entirely ungiving, leaving it up to its human occupants to deliver the humanity.
9. Petite maison au bord du lac Léman
A house designed for Corbusier’s parents, it looks out onto Lake Geneva. The simplistic, minimalist house is all about respect for space. The interior has movable walls and fold-in furniture that allow you to reconstruct space as your go.
10. Usine Claude et Duval Factory
Corbusier was asked to design a clothing factory, after the factory’s owner discovered his writing on city planning.
The building is one of his most ugly and forgettable, completely functional. The building does, however, carry his signature matrix of deep window frames.
GALLERY: Our boldest buildings.
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