Culture & History 2 - Furniture

Analytical Essay WALTER GROPIUS VS LE CORBUSIER

by Kan Jia-Wei Adrian ( 0319384 ) - June 10, 2015

FURNITURE GROPIUS VS CORBUSIER ( FURNITURE )

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This is an analytical essay comparing two Modern Masters, Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier, that follows through their concepts and philosophy, focusing on the theme of furniture. Some of the points that would be explored include in depth comparisons in furniture usage, design, and placement in buildings. Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier were both born and lived through a period which was defined as a very turbulent time in human history. The works and designs that made Gropius and Corbusier household names in the architecture field ultimately kickstarted a movement that would turn out to be the essential foundation of design for the next century.

Walter Gropius. Le Corbusier. Both have left their respective legacies in the form of their work. The Bauhaus Website (n.d.) hailed Gropius as an “impresario in the best possible sense, a combination of speaker and entrepreneur, a visionary manager who aimed to make art a social concern during the post-war upheaval”. And they were right. So visionary were his designs that he was driven out by Nazi Germany as they could not grapple such revolutionary ideas. That famous style that became synonymous with him translated to his approach to furniture too. That raw, simple yet elegant look that transcends to all Gropius buildings worked it’s magic on furniture such as chairs and tables as well. To Walter Gropius, it is essential for external and internal to look the part, to form a cohesive look that would leave any viewer in awe. Through his vision of Bauhaus and the work with many notable names such as Marcel Breuer, many furniture conceptualisations were made a reality. Wassily Chair, Bauhaus Armchair, Barcelona Day

Wassily Chair

Bauhaus Armchair

GROPIUS VS CORBUSIER ( FURNITURE )

Barcelona Day Bed 2

Bed. All these furnitures and many more were conceived under the Bauhaus banner, and so influential was the impact of these designs that it inspired a whole new generation of designers to think differently , with mass adoption rates for said furniture being at an all time high.

In a book written by Alexander Tzonis ( 2001 ), Le Corbusier was seen as “ the development of a unique poetic of machine and metaphor and as well as a symbol of the power constraints of creativity, fiascos and achievements in the twentieth century. Under circumstances mentioned by the author, it is safe to presume that Le Corbusier not only influenced architecture in the twentieth century, but in fact IS the poster boy of it. The writer further compliments Corbusier’s philosophy of “ everything is architecture “ , using examples of his work to enhance and back up his statement. In terms of furniture, Le Corbusier, much can be derived from his designs and philosophies that have been translated from his buildings. Much like what Tzonis has mentioned, the poetic development of machine and metaphor translates very well into his furniture. Being a person that embodies modernism, Le Corbusier’s furnitures such as the Bauhaus Armchair ( picture in page before ) receive such positive feedback that even today the chair is still widely bought and used. Therefore it is safe to say that, after providing initial insights to the works and life of Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier, both modern masters are quite similar in philosophies and design ideas. However, an even more in depth look to

Villa Savoye

compare both parties which include specific products and furniture placements in a example of building would be done.

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For this essay, the Gropius House and Villa Savoye will be used as building representative examples from Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier respectively. These buildings would be used as examples for furniture placements from both architects. Villa Savoye, the work of Le Corbusier, is a villa located in the outskirts of France.

It’s main claim to fame was that, when it was built in 1931, it’s modern international architectural

Gropius House

style captured the attention of many as being ahead of it’s time and opening a different approach to conventional small scale building design. Similarly with the Gropius House, the very modern approach to the design by Walter Gropius meant that the building that was meant to be the personal residence of Gropius himself stood out from the flood of New England styled homes in Massachusetts as being radical and different in it’s approach upon it’s construction in 1938.

Bearing in mind that both modern masters had input and either directly or indirectly contributed to furniture design, for a furniture to furniture comparison the the best possible examples are to be taken, which are the Bauhaus inspired furnitures for Walter Gropius and the LC4 Chaise-lounge as Le Corbusier’s representation.

LC4 Chaise Lounge ( Le Corbusier )

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Barcelona Chair ( Walter Gropius )

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As seen in the pictures before, both the LC4 Chaise Lounge and Barcelona Chair have a modern appeal to them, stem from the idea of modern design that has always been the vision of their respective designers. The LC4, designed by Le Corbusier in collaboration with Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand, is, in the words of website cassina.com, “the definitive chaise lounge, built in shape designed for relaxation, taking the idea that form and function should be at the service of relaxation, a perfect balance between geometric purity and ergonomic intent.”, proven by an explosion popularity in 1965 with strong demand to this day. The Barcelona Chair in retrospect, was different in the fruition of Walter Gropius’ ideas in the sense that, rather than being directly involved in the designing process, fellow architects that shared the same Bauhaus philosophy and worked with Gropius would be the designers of the said furniture and would then be adopted by Gropius for his buildings. In this case, the Barcelona Chair was designed by Mies Van Der Rohe, a close ally of Gropius in Bauhaus and was intended for use in the Barcelona Pavilion. For many subsequent decades, the Barcelona Chair stood out as a product of timeless elegance, and contributes to an air of luxury and class to many

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different types of rooms and buildings. It is this special trait that enabled Walter Gropius to use any other furniture designed by the Bauhaus philosophy in his extensive work, with the Wassily Chair ( picture on first page) as a great example, being used in the Gropius House.

Ultimately, the furnitures that were chosen for comparison show that in terms of design and intentions, the craftsmanship driven by the Bauhaus movement for Walter Gropius and modernism mind of Le Corbusier are really more alike than not.

In the series of original pictures from when the Villa Savoye was completed in the 1920s, it is easy to conclude that furniture placement and layout from Le Corbusier follows a conventional “where it should be� approach. Furniture such as the aforementioned LC4 chaise lounge, dining table and sofas are where you would expect then to be, and more importantly, where it is most likely used more effectively. Furniture orientation is also very distinct, with direction placed on emphasis of importance such as chairs facing each other

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to encourage socialising and sofas facing the piano so that the audience would pay more attention to the piano player.

This, of course, is stark in comparison with how Walter Gropius handles the same scenario. Using the Gropius House as an example once again, everything, and everything from furniture placement, to even the minute details such as lighting fixtures and curtains

have been meticulously thought out and placed in a manner in which that particular item will serve its function to provide the overall ambience and experience in different parts of the house. To provide an example, lamp fixtures go all the way to create an ambience that, when coupled with the usual daylight from that time of the day, would create a perfect aura and feel that perfectly represents a dinner time. Further notable examples include usage of Bauhaus made chairs and tables across the entire house to have a single but consistent design language that translates from the inside of the house to the exterior and surrounding landscape, and incorporating local materials for certain furnitures on a much, much smaller scale a well.

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Ultimately, this analytical essay shows just how similar Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier are, not only in terms of furniture but also in the sense of vision, intent, preference, and architectural design. In a journal written by Denzer. A. S. ( n.d. ) on the topic about the modern masters of architecture, he writes that “What had begun as a cluster of loosely related artistic movements scattered across Europe emerged as the dominant style of the 20th century.” , and with all due respect that is exactly what has happened. Great, different and revolutionary thinkers and designers that paid no allegiance to any “style” and sought to create their own, succeeding in doing so in the process, creating the stepping stones, forging the footsteps and planting the seeds of foundation that would ultimately be the start of a new era in design, one where complicating designs are a thing of a past, one where form follows function and one where simplicity adheres on the top step of the pyramid.

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REFERENCES

1) Tzonis. A. (2001). Le Corbusier The Poetics Of Machine And Metaphor. New York:Universe.

2) Gropius. W. (1965). the new architecture and the bauhaus. London: Faber and Faber.

3) Denzer. A. S. ( n.d. ). masters of modernism. Retrieved from http:// www.mastersofmodernism.com/?page=Modernism 4) Gardinetti. M. ( 2013 ). Le Corbusier, mobiliario para Villa Church. Retrieved from http://tecnne.com/le-corbusier/le-corbusier-mobiliario-para-villa-church/ 5) Cassina ( n.d. ). Chaise longue Ă rĂŠglage continu. Retrieved from http://cassina.com/ en/collection/sofas-and-armchairs/lc4 6) Mynsbrugge. J. V. ( n.d. ) Famous Chairs and Their Designers. Retrieved from http:// www.vandermynsbrugge.be/famouschairs-part1.pdf 7) Robinson. M. ( 2012 ). Marcel Breuer and his Furniture Design. Retrieved from http:// the189.com/furniture/marcel-breuer-and-his-furniture-design/ 8) Bauhaus Online. ( n.d. ). Walter Gropius. Retrieved from http://bauhaus-online.de/en/ atlas/personen/walter-gropius

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