Le Corbusier and the Maisons Jaoul

Book excerpt: In 1955, just as the world was pigeonholing him as the high priest of modernism, Le Corbusier shocked the architecture world with – of all things – weekend houses. Built of brick, concrete, stone, and timber, the Maisons Jaoul are the antithesis of everything commonly referred to as “Corbusian.” Their surprising scale gives them a magnificent sculptural presence and the uncharacteristically raw materiality of their exteriors – oozing mortar, rough brick – gives them a deliberately crude, almost craftlike, appearance. Le Corbusier and the Maisons Jaoul is the first book-length, detailed examination of these lesser-known, yet architecturally significant houses. Built for André Jaoul and his son – and their wives – the Maisons Jaoul encompassed four years of intense design activity. Using previously unpublished sources, author Caroline Maniaque Benton thoroughly captures Le Corbusier’s extraordinary journey of discovery. Valuable insights are gleaned from conversations between clients, draughtsmen, and craftsmen; firsthand documents; and letters in Le Corbusier’s own hand.