The New Architecture between rupture and adaptation: Corbusian experiments on the urban parcel (Paris, 1922)

Abstract

When proposing the foundations of its New Architecture, Le Corbusier rejects the urban plot, focusing on compositions conceived over tabula rasa. However, his practice led him to produce buildings inserted into the fabric of the existing city, implying the adoption of hybrid design strategies, adapted to the context of immediate application. Nevertheless, it does not abandon the figurative experimentation that characterize his search for architectural renewal, showing the possibility of an avant-garde design sensitive to the specific conditions of the place. The Maison Ozenfant foresees this possibility, whose presence in the Oeuvre Complète, although visible, remain obscured in the architect’s prescriptive discourse.