Towards a New Architecture

Le Corbusier

Brewer, Warren and Putnam. New York

translated from the 13th French edition by

Frederick Etchells  1927. 2nd - 4th thousand

The original french edition was published in 1923.

This first english translation edition was published in 1927.

A small part of the scarce dust jacket is missing on the back of the jacket (see photo).

This key work on modernist architecture is a collection of essays written by Le Corbusier advocating for and exploring the concept of modern architecture. The book has had a lasting effect on the architectural profession, serving as the manifesto for a generation of architects, a subject of hatred for others, and unquestionably a critical piece of architectural theory. The architectural historian Reyner Banham once claimed that its influence was unquestionably "beyond that of any other architectural work published in this [20th] century to date". That unparalleled influence has continued, unabated, into the 21st century. The polemical book contains seven essays. Each essay dismisses the contemporary trends of eclecticism and art deco, replacing them with architecture that was meant to be more than a stylistic experiment; rather, an architecture that would fundamentally change how humans interacted with buildings. This new mode of living derived from a new spirit defining the industrial age, demanding a rebirth of architecture based on function and a new aesthetic based on pure form.

Many of Corbusier’s buildings, sketches / drawings are shown. So are early airplanes, cars (automobiles), industrial machines to go along with and elaborate on Le Corbusier’s view of ‘marriage' between engineering and modern architecture to create beauty.

’The house is a machine for living in’.