Le Corbusier Charter Of Athens Analysis

Discuss the context and the key principles of the Charter of Athens; assess its influence on late twentieth century urbanism, in a range of cities.

The Charter of Athens was a modernist manifesto that was published in 1943 by the Swiss architect Le Corbusier, who had a major influence on urban planning and architecture after World War II. His work was heavily based upon Le Corbusier’s Ville Radieuse (Radiant City) book of 1935 that was written by the Congres International d’Architecture Moderne. The Charter got its name from the location of the fourth CIAM conference in 1933, which took place in Athens.

The making of the Charter had the first vision that architects and planners could no longer work under the pressures of the industrialisaiton

In the Charter of Athens Le Corbusier stated five key points of a new architecture and were most evident in his Villa Savoye. These five points were that “every building would have a pilotis, which is a replacement of supporting walls by a grid of reinforced concrete. They would also have a free designing of the ground plan and a free design of the façade. Each building should also have horizontal windows that would cut the façade so it lights each room equally. And finally each building should have a roof garden on a flat roof which can have a multiuse purpose” (Le Corbusier, 1986). All five of these points were featured on the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts in which was built in 1962. This building stands out from any other within the United States and is why some people see this building to be the ugliest on Campus but some see it as the most attractive due to the concept behind the development. The Charter of Athens and Le Corbusier have played a huge influence on the nature of this building and the area around it and has mad it a unique landmark in the area. The building has been placed on the best site in the area with minimum exposure to solar in the rooms. In comparison to the other two buildings this building has had less of an impact on its city its surroundings; its focus is primarily the building itself. Urbanism has allowed the building to be different and diverse ensuring quality architecture and urban design has taken place providing a sustainable future for the building and it’s