Conceptualised by the inimitable Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, and writer himself, Pavillon Le Corbusier was designed to be the ideal exhibition venue. Charles-Édouard Jeanneret’s 1967-established museum was a realisation of his life-long quest for a ‘synthesis of the arts’. May 2019 saw the reopening of this unique, colourful pavilion (his final project and a definitive deviation from Corbusier’s penchant for concrete) that reflects the maestros passion for amassing objects and trouvailles from art, folklore, and nature.
Silvio Schmed and Arthur Rüegg restored the art museum to its original state on behalf of the City of Zurich, and a temporary exhibition titled Mon Univers, by the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, features curated originals from Le Corbusier’s private collection, along with historical photographs, casts, and paintings. However, the main exhibit remains the structure itself.
“The ship-like construction is based on Le Corbusier’s Modulor system of proportions, and the building embodies a number of his other design principles as well—as a kind of architectural legacy. These tenets include prefabrication, elements such as the access ramp and the small roof garden that recur throughout his oeuvre, and the ‘promenade architecturale,’ a carefully conceived route through the building to enable the visitor to optimally view and experience the architecture. The structure is the last completed design by the influential architect and his only building made of steel and glass,” Museum officials explain.
Loans from the Fondation Le Corbusier in Paris, notable private collections, and the Antikenmuseum Basel add to the inimitable theme of the space. Apart from fifty personal collectibles from the Fondation Le Corbusier, film clips of Le Corbusier (taken with a 16mm camera), and a wall of large-format film stills, the exhibition also features a recreation of the iconic installation, Les arts dits primitifs dans la maison d’aujourd’hui (1931) .
Another noteworthy element is a permanent exhibition of seventeen photographs taken by René Burri during his role as visual chronicler of Le Corbusier and his work between 1955 and 1965.
The exhibition pavilion is only open during the summer months, from 11 May to 17 November 2019
