Towards a New Architecture (Dover Architecture)

Great Book!! It has a very detail description from point of view and concept of Le Corbusier.

A must read for anyone with the least bit of interest in architecture.

While known for at times overstating his case, Le Corbusier still makes a well-thought and passionate statement for the impact and value of architecture in the 20th (and now 21st century). The book is a fast, engaging read and frighteningly topical for something that was written almost a century ago.

Probably the most important book in Modern Architecture. Certainly the most villified over the years, especially since the death of Le Corbusier. In it he laid the ground work for Modern Architecture, extolling the virtues of an architecture that was the product of the machine age rather than a pastiche of historical styles. Le Corbusier illustrated the principles which he felt should govern architecture, drawing from historical references such as the Parthenon, but stressing the need to come up with a new proportional system reflective of concrete construction. He had developed the Dom-ino system by this point and had designed a few villas along these lines. Included are wonderful sketches and models of his Citrohan House, which he hoped would be mass-produced like the automobile. He even approached the French car maker, Citroen, in this regard.He explored low-scale housing solutions based on what he called the "Honeycomb" principle, porous housing blocks that allowed light and air to pass through the buildings for better ventilation and more airy courtyards. He forsaw many of the environmental concerns architecture now faces, despite the many attacks to the contrary.Le Corbusier would reshape many of his ideas over time, but this book outlines his early view of architecture in the machine age, which led to the quote most often taken from this book, "a house is a machine for living." But, Le Corbusier saw it in much more human terms than his critics have.

Le Corbousier's mathematical and, at times, brutal approach to architecture is clearly and coherently laid out in this gem of a book. He is very to the point and uses words and ideas that can plainly be understood by his audience. This book is not as bad as some people say it is - Le Corbousier's just not a romantic like the rest of us!