Digital Guide

C 4     Volume in Equilibrium

Architecture as Sculpture

After the Second World War, Le Corbusier underwent a remarkable transformation. He rejected the clear lines, geometric forms, and functional principles that defined his early buildings, shocking the professional world.

The chapel at Ronchamp, built between 1950 and 1955, is an asymmetrical, curved building with irregular, organic forms. Le Corbusier used sprayed concrete to create a sculptural architecture and thus leave behind traditional, rectangular construction methods. The arced, shell-shaped roof seems to lift off the walls, as if weightless. Light also plays a central role. Le Corbusier used daylight to structure the interior, enhance its sculptural effect, and create a spiritual atmosphere.   

Le Corbusier’s approach to designing chapel was intuitive. He sketched out its main features in pencil drawings made over just a few days while traveling. This intuitive, artistic design process and the sculptural form of the building make the chapel a forerunner of so-called postmodern. A few years after Ronchamp, Le Corbusier also realized the Dominican monastery of Sainte-Marie de La Tourette near Lyon. For Le Corbusier, these buildings represented the artistic challenge of bringing together traditional religious architecture and modern design principles.

1 Sketchbook

The ideas for many buildings arose intuitively for Le Corbusier – this was also the case for the chapel in Ronchamp. Inspired by the natural surroundings and landscape, he determined the church’s external form by making some sketches over a few days. Le Corbusier compared the design process to "birthing": an idea had to mature over time until it was finally ready. Eventually, his staff in Paris interpreted his sketches and developed them into precise architectural drawings.

2 Roof Structure of the Notre-Dame-du-Haut in Ronchamp

The most famous element of the Ronchamp chapel is its roof. Le Corbusier said he was inspired by the shape of a crab shell he found on the beach. However, the roof’s construction also resembles an aeroplane wing. This new mode of transportation had always fascinated Le Corbusier. Like a wing, the roof is hollow inside and supported by ‘ribs’ that stabilise the structure. The surface consists of a thin ‘skin’ of concrete. This construction method gives the roof its impressive, organic shape while making possible the lightweight structure.

3 South wall of Notre-Dame-du-Haut in Ronchamp with Window Openings

In Le Corbusier’s sacred buildings, the use of light plays a crucial role. Through innovatively designed openings for light in the façades, which are sometimes combined with coloured glass, light is directed into the interior, creating a dramatic atmosphere.

4 Book Ronchamp and Cover drafts

Le Corbusier published four books about the Ronchamp chapel. He seems to have engaged with no other building as intensively – even after its completion. He designed the books and their covers himself. Apparently, Le Corbusier established the basic idea for the cover very early on, only experimenting with small changes in typography and colour.

5 Photographies Sainte-Marie de la Tourette

In 1953, Le Corbusier began to design the Sainte-Marie de la Tourette monastery near Lyon for the Dominican Order. Since his early study trips, he had been fascinated by the ascetic, strictly regulated life in monasteries. Although Le Corbusier was not religious himself, he maintained the idea that simple living favoured spiritual development. The sparsely furnished cells are proportioned according to the Modulor measurements and are intended to emphasise the main aspects of monastic life – living, praying, and studying.

Close