Le Corbusier the Chapel at Ronchamp

by Pauly, Daniele

• ISBN13: 9783764382322
• ISBN10: 3764382325
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-05-04
• Publisher: Birkhauser Architecture

Summary

The pilgrimage church Notre-Dame-du-Haut in Ronchamp (1950'54), an icon of modern architecture, represents one of the central buildings of Le Corbusier's late period. Located on a high plateau in the Vosges above Belfort, this building is an unsurpassed work of art which also fits uniquely into its physical surroundings. The shell-shaped roof, the rounded walls, the towers of stone masonry, and the facade with its rhythmic openings of colored glass are the essential elements of this sculptural construction. The scale and proportions of the chapel at Ronchamp are designed on the basis of the Modulor that Le Corbusier developed, which accounts for its distinctive spatial effect. Like all the guides in this series, this book is indispensable both for a specialist audience and for tourists interested in architecture and modern art.

Author Biography

Daniele Pauly teaches at the Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Architecture de Paris Val de Seine and is a researcher at the Laboratoire d'Histoire de l'Architecture Contemporaine de l'Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Architecture de Nancy.

Table of Contents

Visiting and "Reading" the Building
Promenade Architecturale	p. 10
The Site	p. 24
A Route through Spatial Shapes and Forms	p. 29
The Exterior	p. 30
The South-Facing Entrance Facade	p. 30
The Outdoor Chapel in the East	p. 33
The North Facade	p. 36
The West Facade	p. 36
The Interior	p. 38
A "Sculpted" Space	p. 41
Secondary Elements	p. 42
History and Genesis of the Project	p. 48
Background to the Commission	p. 50
The Commission	p. 50
The Generating Ideas	p. 51
Early Outline Sketches	p. 52
An Organic Plan	p. 59
The Preliminary Design	p. 59
The Definitive Design	p. 63
The Design Process	p. 70
The Construction Phase	p. 78
Construction Conditions	p. 78
Construction Principles	p. 80
Construction Materials	p. 81
A "Total Work of Art"	p. 84
Sculptural and "Acoustic" Forms	p. 87
Volumes Bathed in Light	p. 88
Colour	p. 94
Music	p. 96
Ronchamp: A Manifesto	p. 98
Notes	p. 102
Bibliography	p. 105
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