Le Corbusier’s very last realised project, originally inaugurated in 1967, the Pavilion Le Corbusier in Zurich, is experiencing a popular summer after its reopening in May. Between October 2017 and February 2019 architects Silvio Schmed and Arthur Rüegg worked on a meticulous renovation of the iconic landmark status structure to return it to its former colourful, art-filled glory.
The 600 sq m steel and glass structure, which unfolds across four storeys, was designed by the great master at the request of interior designer, gallery owner, and patron Heidi Weber, who visualisedit as the ideal exhibition venue and destination for art. Le Corbusier duly obliged, creating a building that was ‘a synthesis of the arts’ – bringing together art, architecture and life. For architecture and design lovers, the pavilion also reflects the well known modernist's wider principles on prefabrication, circulation, his fondness of roof gardens, and presents an opportunity to see some of his furniture design.
Stairway, Pavillon Le Corbusier, 2018.
Chimney pipe, Pavillon Le Corbusier, 2018.
When the lease for the land the pavilion was built on ran out in 2014, the structure was passed to the local authorities to be operated by the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich. The team has since made it their goal to return the pavilion to its original purpose – displaying art – and going forwards will be presenting a series of exhibitions that explore Le Corbusier from different angles. To meet increased public interest, opening hours extend to seven months a year (May to November) and six days a week.
The current exhibition, running until November, titled ‘Mon Univers’, explores Le Corbusier’s passion for collecting. As well as an architect, architectural theorist and urban planner, Le Corbusier was also an active painter, craftsman, sculptor, and furniture designer, who amassed many objects such as conch shells, ceramics from the Balkans, flotsam, and industrial glass that he would arrange in assemblages for inspiration.
Original pieces from the architect's private collection, spanning historical photographs, casts, paintings, ceramics, bronzes and furniture, are displayed alongside loans from the Fondation Le Corbusier in Paris and the Antikenmuseum Basel, and 16mm film clips of Le Corbusier, building a visual and thematic journey through the pavilion; while his legendary 1931 installation ‘Les arts dits primitifs dans la maison d’aujourd’hui’ has been recreated in the two-story atrium on the ground floor.
Lounge area on second floor with the LC 1–4 by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand, 2018.
Façade with enamel panels, 2018.
Ramp with side window, 2018.
Installation view of ‘Mon univers’ exhibition, first floor of the Pavillon Le Corbusier, 2019.
Roof terrace, 2019.
Installation view of ‘Mon univers’ exhibition, second floor of the Pavillon Le Corbusier, 2019.
Kitchen corner, 2018.
Façade detail, 2019.
Pavillon Le Corbusier, 2019.
First floor, 2019.
Ramp with side window, 2018.
First floor, 2019.
Installation view of ‘Mon univers’ exhibition, basement floor, 2019.
INFORMATION
museum-gestaltung.ch
‘Mon univers’, Pavilion Le Corbusier, 11 May – 17 November 2019
ADDRESS
Pavillon Le Corbusier
Höschgasse 8
8008 Zurich
Switzerland
-
Think small, think electric, as Hyundai attempts to revolutionise the classic Indian three-wheelerHyundai’s Micro Mobility strategy, in collaboration with Indian manufacturer TVS, has revealed two conceptual takes on small electric urban transport in a bid to cut the country’s crushing pollution issue
-
‘Just beneath the surface there’s another world’: How David Lynch used hair and make-up to create his singular universeFrom Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive to Twin Peaks, David Lynch used hair and make-up in his films as a narrative device, writes Laura Havlin
-
Burns Night 2025: where to celebrate in LondonIt is time to raise a wee dram to Scotland’s national poet Robert Burns on Burns Night (25 January). Here is our pick of places to enjoy an evening of generous speechmaking, toasting, and drinking around London
-
Tour 21 lesser-known modernist houses in EuropeTake a tour of some of Europe's lesser-known modernist houses; architectural writer and curator Adam Štěch leads the way, discussing the 20th-century movement's diversity under a single vision
-
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Weisblat House, a Usonian modernist Michigan gem, could be yoursFrank Lloyd Wright’s Weisblat House in Michigan is on the market – a chance to peek inside the heritage modernist home in the countryside
-
The case of the Ontario Science Centre: a 20th-century architecture classic facing an uncertain futureThe Ontario Science Centre by Raymond Moriyama is in danger; we look at the legacy and predicament of this 20th-century Toronto gem
-
Alvar Aalto: our ultimate guide to architecture's father of gentle modernismAlvar Aalto defined midcentury – and Finnish – architecture like no other, creating his own, distinctive brand of gentle modernism; honouring him, we compiled the ultimate guide
-
Design Awards 2025: Alvar Aalto's Finlandia Hall is a modernist gem reborn through sustainability and accessibilityHelsinki's Finlandia Hall, an Alvar Aalto landmark design, has been reborn - highlighting sustainability and accessibility in a new chapter for the modernist classic
-
The three lives of the Edith Farnsworth House: now, a modernist architecture icon open to allThe modernist Edith Farnsworth House has had three lives since its conception in 1951 by Mies van der Rohe; the latest is a sensitive renovation, and it's open to the public
-
A revamped Edinburgh apartment combines Californian-style modernism with modern craftArcher + Braun have transformed an apartment in a historic house with finely tuned contemporary additions and sympathetic attention to detail
-
A look inside the home of George Homsey, one of the fathers of pioneering California modernist community Sea RanchGeorge Homsey's home opens for the first time since his death, in 2019; see where the architect behind some of the designs for Sea Ranch, the pioneering California modernist community, lived
