35 Rue de Sevres - Corbusier's Studio

A chance exhibit on Charlotte Perriand at the Louis Vuitton museum, an internet search into her collaboration with le corbusier, an address to his studio in Paris. It turns out the apartment we were staying at on 125 rue de sevres was several blocks from the mythic studio that he inhabited from 1924 till his death in 1965, 35 rue de sevres. The studio was only 3.5 meters wide and ran perpendicular to the street, across the courtyard from a jesuit abbey. Archival pictures of the studio show a dozen drafting tables along an double loaded aisle. In this non-descript studio, he designed most of his most iconic projects such as Notre Dame du Haut, at Ronchamp, Unite d´Habitation in Marseille, Convent de La Tourrette, and Chandigrah.

From the street, in front of the modern building with balconies, there was a woman on a wheelchair in front of the building gate. Walking inside, you could see the courtyard corbusier’s studio faced behind a secondary metal gate. I began to visualize everyday for 36 years, corbusier walking through this same entry gate i had just walked. I’ve followed his journeys to the orient through sketchbooks, have seen a couple of his American buildings, read a lot of his books, and was laughing at myself for my extensive experience with his architecture work that doesn’t really correlate with experiencing his actual architecture. He followed a strict monk-like schedule. From 6-8 AM he would paint. Once his mind was warmed up in the morning he would meditate on urban and architecture issues. Then he would come into the office with new ideas, sketches and notes, and work there from two in the afternoon to around seven in the evening. Like a typical Swiss, time was sacred for Le Corbusier, and if people were late, they would get in trouble. In the early years, corbusier would arrive to his office by subway or taxi. Later on, he drove his convertible Fiat. However, in his late years, he would take cab rides to work. At 2:00 p.m. just before he entered the atelier, an atmosphere of anxiety floated over the studio. Le Corbusier’s notes became more complex, and his critiques were more intolerant. At night, corbusier would continue painting. He once said of his routine, “If the generations to come attach any importance to my work as an architect, it is to these unknown labors that one has attribute its deeper meaning”. On a good day, Corbu would sketch continuously until losing track of time. On a bad day he would get frustrated, toss his pencil or the remains of the charcoal. In a bitter manner, he said several times “C'est difficile, l´architecture”.

I asked a janitor to see if he would grant access to the courtyard. “Sorry.” I went to the church service at the abbey next door and they also told me they were sorry they couldn’t let me in. I went back to the interior gate to catch a glimpse of the court. It’s been 54 years since corbusier walked this path I thought. 15 years ago I traced his steps through Italy on his voyage d’orient that he made in 1910... visiting villa d’este, monastery of ema, Hadrian’s villa, and Pompeii houses. I hoped that by seeing what he saw, the sites would similarly inspire me. Unfortunately all my sketches and photos of the trip have gathered dust. Now I was back on corbusier’s trail again. What struck me about his office was how small and modest it was. A great architect doesn’t need a big firm or a great space to create great architecture... a 3.5 meter wide ground floor office space overlooking a courtyard with space for 16 drafting tables will suffice. corbusier showed the most important factors to create great architecture is a process to generate ideas (painting), writing to articulate ideas and influence and attract talented people to collaborate. One such talented collaborator was Charlotte Perriand.

charlotte perriand