Club de Centre Rural: Perspective Sketch

Born Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, French architect Le Corbusier was one of the pillars of modern architecture. Concerned with the general principles of urban planning, his radical designs were intended to improve universal living conditions by addressing basic needs, attending to physical comfort, and promoting social discourse. Drafting was a vital, theoretical part of Le Corbusier’s process. To promote his ideas about modern building techniques and social reform, he published his drawings in books and in his journal, L’Esprit nouveau, disseminating his views to a wide audience. Le Corbusier was a crusader for new technologies and materials, such as reinforced concrete and pillar foundations. These resources liberated architectural design, allowing for the creation of vast, open floor plans with unobstructed window walls. Club de Centre Rural alludes to Le Corbusier’s rational yet humane vision of urban life. This perspective sketch, which displays Le Corbusier’s trademark economy of line, depicts a large, airy space in which clusters of people congregate. The building is constructed of plain walls and slender supporting pillars, divided and fronted by walls of pure glass.