Marriage of Contours - Corbusier

Corbusier: “the basis of my research and my intellectual production has its secret in the uninterrupted practices of painting.” It is a known fact that everday, Corbusier would paint from 8 AM-2 PM, then go to the studio from 2-7 pm. Painting was an integral part of his life. How did Corbusier’s painting influenced his architectural process?

Le Corbusier referred to his artistic method as a ‘marriage of contours’. In this method 2 objects that are drawn with shared profiles or interwoven outlines create a third figure. Le Corbusier’s marriage of contours relates to his painting (Purism), his rules for drawing relationships (composition and regulating lines that are used to create harmonies), and the architectural implications of his drawings, (i.e., Villa Savoye-- contours and architectural promenade, Unite d’Habitation-- shared contours, shared walls multiple functions).

The paintings from the Nivola collection 1920-1951 were works of art that were chosen by Corbusier that he thought represented his visual language. One can see in his paintings that Corbusier was interested in the relationships between forms. Corbusier’s paintings can be seen as a reaction to cubism. A quote from the 4th issue L’esprit Nouveau titled Le purisme. “Instead of sifting out the general laws of these objects, cubism only showed their accidental aspects, to such an extent that on the basis of this erroneous idea it even recreated arbitrary and fantastic forms… If the cubists were mistaken, it is because they did not seek out the invariable constituents of their chosen themes, which could have formed a universal, transmittable language.” Corbusier attacked cubism because it has become non-representational, obscure, lacked rigor, and too fragmented. Corbusier and L’Ozenfant proposed a logic that defined their Purist principles” 1. Goal of serious art is to study the invariables, 2. Isometric more precise information about shape and volume 3. Regulating lines (golden section) 4. Densification, superimposition 5. Marriage of objects with same contour in common (At their convergence, is the detail that most characterized the object type.)

“the rules of the game, the most beautiful game man has ever invented, the game of art.”

“seeing is not a gift, but a discipline to be learned”

refinement of composition to essential state

overlaps in paintings

Having discussed his purist painting framework, we can now interpret how it influenced his design process. Early in the design, spaces are shown with overlapping contours. Where they overlap a new figure emerges that acts as a filter between spaces on either side, belonging to both.

In the Unite d’Habitation apartment: where the bathroom and bedroom realms overlap-- closets appear. Where walls between bedrooms overlap, are places for storage and shelving.  Folding screens work to mediate the overlap between terrace and room. Folding screens and partitions are built into the overlapping wall to allow spaces to overlap, or separate. On a larger level, where 2 apartment units overlap is a hallway/circulation. Thus we can see, these places of overlap are often changeable (transformable) with operable folding doors, storage, that serve and define spaces. By embedding functions into overlaps, Corbusier is allows the bedroom to be free of clutter (wardrobe, shelving), it can remain a more pure element with just its necessities like a bed.

overlaps in plans 

When asked by sculptor John Nivola “Why does it seem there is a continuous line running through your painting?” Cobusier responded, “like walking into a room, looking around, encountering furniture, and then going out again composition organized around circulation, architectural promenade.” There is another reading of contours in Corbusier’s work. Contours define architectural promenade. The movement of the car, the servant, and the inhabitant of the space are defined by the contours.