Le Corbusier against the French national pride

Abstract

This article discusses the less commented book Croisade or le Crépuscule des Académies, written by Le Corbusier and published in 1933, as a response to a speech made, in 1932, by Gustave Umbdenstock, a renowned professor of the École Polytechnique. The purpose of the book was to defend modern architecture before the attacks which identified it as a reductionist attitude of the rationalist thought and industrialization. As a result, this would lead to unemployment of workers, craftsman and French architects, who were linked to time-honored traditions. The struggle pictured in the book takes place within one of the biggest crisis in Europe from the late 19th century until the beginning of World War II. It was a period of patriotism, national pride and protectionism, and obviously expansion and protection of these values. This work sets out to clear the dimension of the debate between those brilliant men, placed in such opposite positions. In addition, the article includes a translation of an excerpt from the conclusion of the book,