Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier, the brilliant architect of the twentieth century, always carried along a sketchbook, a kind of diary in which, observing the "grand tour" tradition and the "fads" of famous nineteenth-century travellers, he amassed observations, calculations, and drawings of works and designs, carefully jotting down his meetings, experiences, reflections. The notebooks forming the "Voyages d'Orient", published in partnership with the Fondation Le Corbusier, were rediscovered in 1994. They follow the architect's 1911 travels to the Balkans, Istanbul, Prague, Bucharest, Greece, all the way to Italy, Brindisi, Naples, Rome, until they mysteriously break off in Florence. Orient here is the broad term that refers to the first classicism, and for Le Corbusier approaching antiquity meant coming into contact with the clearly defined forms of Greek temples, of Islamic Istanbul, of the Roman city, seeking the point where modernism and classicism meet. The edition features a detailed transcription of the master's autograph texts along with introductory notes by Gresleri.