Representing the modern architecture movement as its pioneer, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, also known under his alias, Le Corbusier, created the buildings that incorporated not only functionality but also a unique and inimitable style, therefore, shaping people’s perceptions of expressivity in architecture. Although his “Radiant City” project represented an original and interesting relationship between form and function, it failed impressively due to the mismatch between its aesthetics and that one of Paris architecture, as well as the supposed need for redesigning the entirety of Paris infrastructure.
Le Corbusier’s “Ville Radieuse” represented an original and daring attempt at revisiting the relationships between the form and function to create a city where orderliness and an impeccably planned infrastructure would contribute to the citizens’ wellbeing. However, the rigid focus on rationalism that the “Ville Radieuse” promoted implied making drastic changes to the Parisian urban infrastructure. Combined with the miscalculations regarding the lighting framework of the city, the proposed project was already facing significant impediments, which made its implementation excessively difficult (Moulis, 2020). Thus, Le Corbusier’s “Ville Radieuse” represents a case of failing to evaluate the feasibility of the plan.
As an architecture project, “Ville Radieuse” represents an attempt at using architectural expressionism as the tool for introducing rationality and connecting minimalistic form directly to function. Although the project was based purely on the notion of the rational thought, it failed miserably due to the lack of consideration for the changes needed to be implemented to change the Parisian urban environment. Therefore, despite the rationalist approach to the ostensible improvements in the city planning, Le Corbusier’s “Ville Radieuse” represented a major failure due to the lack of consideration and rational thought in the implementation of the project.
Reference
Moulis, A. (2020). Le Corbusier in the antipodes: Art, architecture and urbanism. Routledge.