Le Corbusier Foundation

Le Corbusier Foundation
Name	Fondation Le Corbusier
Native name	Fondation Le Corbusier
Founded	1968
Founder	Le Corbusier
Headquarters	Paris
Location	Saint-Cloud

Le Corbusier Foundation is a private institution established to preserve, promote, and manage the legacy of the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier. The foundation safeguards architectural drawings, models, writings, and built projects associated with Villa Savoye, Unité d'Habitation, Notre Dame du Haut, and other key works, while engaging with institutions such as the UNESCO and the International Council on Monuments and Sites to support heritage recognition. It operates within networks that include the Centre Pompidou, the Musée national d'art moderne, and university programs at École des Beaux-Arts and EPFL.

History

The foundation was created in 1968 through directives from Le Corbusier and formalized after his death, interacting early with legal authorities in Paris and heirs such as Yves Klein-era contemporaries and collectors. Its archives grew from transfers by the architect's estate and collaborators like Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Jeanneret, and Nicolas de Staël-era contacts, and it engaged with preservation campaigns for sites including Villa Savoye and Cité Radieuse. Over decades the foundation coordinated with municipal bodies in Poissy, regional heritage agencies in Île-de-France, and international bodies during nominations to lists such as the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Mission and Activities

The foundation's mission centers on safeguarding the patrimony of Le Corbusier, promoting study via partnerships with institutions like Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Bibliothèque Kandinsky, and academic programs at Harvard Graduate School of Design, Columbia GSAPP, and ETH Zurich. Activities include authenticating drawings tied to projects such as Palais des Congrès and Plan Voisin, advising on restoration of buildings like Notre Dame du Haut and Unité d'Habitation Marseille, and supporting exhibitions at venues including the Fondation Cartier and the Museum of Modern Art. It also collaborates with professional bodies such as the International Union of Architects and the Architectural Review on policy and guidelines.

Collections and Archives

The foundation curates extensive holdings of manuscripts, working drawings, painted panels, and models related to projects like Villa La Roche, Maison La Roche-Jeanneret, and urban schemes for Chandigarh. Holdings include correspondence with figures such as Jean Cocteau, Amédée Ozenfant, and Le Corbusier's collaborators Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand, as well as photographic records by André Kertész-style contemporaries and technical drawings preserved alongside construction documents for Cité Frugès. The archive is referenced by scholars from Yale School of Architecture, the University of Cambridge, and the Bibliothèque de l'INHA.

Conservation and Restoration Projects

The foundation issues technical guidance for interventions on works including Unité d'Habitation Marseille, Notre Dame du Haut, Villa Savoye, and late projects linked to Firminy-Vert. It coordinates with conservators from the Getty Conservation Institute, engineers from Arup, and heritage specialists from ICOMOS to reconcile modern standards with original materials and techniques employed in projects like Maison du Docteur Curutchet. The foundation has been active in campaigns to secure statutory protection at municipal and national levels, collaborating with entities such as the Ministry of Culture (France) and regional preservation offices.

Publications and Research

The foundation publishes catalogues raisonnés, annotated inventories, and critical editions of texts by Le Corbusier, including editions that cross-reference projects like Vers une architecture, The Modulor, and the Plan Voisin drawings. It sponsors research fellowships taken up at institutions such as Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania School of Design, and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne to advance scholarship on modernism, urbanism, and technical conservation. Its editorial output appears alongside journals like Architectural History, Daedalus, and Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians.

Exhibitions and Education

The foundation organizes and loans materials for exhibitions at venues including the Centre Pompidou, the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Tate Modern, and supports touring shows that feature works such as models of Unité d'Habitation and preparatory drawings for Notre Dame du Haut. Educational programs target students and professionals through seminars at École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris-Belleville, summer studios in collaboration with Columbia University, and public lectures featuring curators from the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and scholars from Delft University of Technology.

Governance and Funding

Governance comprises a board that liaises with executors of the architect's estate, trustees drawn from international museums such as the Fondation Beyeler and universities like EPFL, and advisers from bodies including ICOM and UNESCO. Funding sources include private donations from patrons associated with institutions such as the Fondation Cartier and grants tied to collaborative projects with foundations like the Getty Foundation and governmental cultural funds in France and Switzerland. The foundation also generates revenue through publication sales, licensing for reproductions coordinated with publishers and galleries such as Taschen and exhibition partnerships with museums like the Fondation Louis Vuitton.

Category:Cultural organizations Category:Architectural archives Category:Historic preservation organizations