Books by Marta Sequeira
By exploring Carrilho da Graça’s conceptual process through analepsis, starting from the present ... more By exploring Carrilho da Graça’s conceptual process through analepsis, starting from the present and advancing retrospectively towards the beginning of his career, this book reflects the founding principles of the architect’s work. It is structured around the contents of the Flasbback / Carrillo da Graça exhibition held at the Casa da Arquitectura (Portugal) from April 2022 to January 2023: ten built projects – from the Lisbon Cruise Terminal (2010-2018) to the Fonte Fria House (1985-1988)- and various references from Julião Sarmento’s Blue, Red, Yellow (2018) to Kazimir Malevich’s Arditectone: Alpha (1923). This record is further interspersed with texts and transcriptions of statements by individuals who have contributed to the development of Carrilho da Graça’s work and paradigmatic domain and by other thinkers who add to the required historical and critical analysis of the work of one of contemporary architecture’s most productive figures.
Lisbon is being ravaged by an unprecedented housing crisis. The exponential increase of prices, t... more Lisbon is being ravaged by an unprecedented housing crisis. The exponential increase of prices, the combined outcome of the financialisation of housing and the lack of continued investment of public policies, means that every Portuguese person is, or knows someone who is, affected by the crisis. There is a restless public debate, but little has been told about the buildings that will give shape to the political strategies that are being conceived and implemented. Which city do we wish to build to face the problem? What can be the role of architecture in this context? Living in Lisbon concisely presents the conjecture and possibilities of action to think about the building of the city. The book includes an overview of the most charismatic architectures resulting from public housing policies that have been built in Lisbon over the course of 50 years of democracy, describes the main projects that are currently on the table, presents analytical visions of the present situation and freely envisions plans for the future in the form of dialogue, essay or manifesto.
The extensive literature on Le Corbusier’s work tends to examine mostly his architecture, but he ... more The extensive literature on Le Corbusier’s work tends to examine mostly his architecture, but he was also very interested in the larger scale of cities and planning.
He makes several urban plans—for the reconstruction of France, for Bogota and
for Chandigarh, for example—and writes several books on urbanism—The city of
tomorrow and its planning, Precisions, The Radiant City, The Athens Charter, The
Three Human Establishments, just to quote a few examples. This book contributes
to fill in the void regarding the systematic analysis of Le Corbusier’s city scale plans
and, in particular, the public space. The public spaces in Le Corbusier’s plans are usually considered to break with the past and to have nothing whatsoever in common
with the public spaces created before Modernism. This view is fostered by evidence
that masks their innovative character, and also by misinterpretations of some of Le
Corbusier’s own observations and liberal use of words like machine civilization, new
spirit and architecture of tomorrow, which mask any evocation of the past. However,
if we manage to rid ourselves of certain preconceived ideas, which underpin a somewhat less-than-objective idea of modernity, we find that Le Corbusier’s public spaces not only didn’t break with the historical past in any abrupt way but actually testify to the continuity of human creation over time. This is what this book aims to demonstrate through an analysis of some of Le Corbusier’s public spaces dating from the period immediately after the Second World War.
A edificação de um espaço público, de representação e glorificação do colectivo, é uma preocupaçã... more A edificação de um espaço público, de representação e glorificação do colectivo, é uma preocupação transversal à história da Humanidade. É a demonstração da necessidade inerente ao homem de constituir o centro da vida pública da comunidade a que pertence, assim como da necessidade de conferir identidade ao conjunto urbano onde habita. Trata-se de um tema de grande pertinência nos nossos dias, sempre que se procura definir uma ideia de lugar público que se adeque à sociedade actual e sempre que nos deparamos com as dificuldades que tal implica. Ao estudar a concepção de dois lugares públicos exemplares desenhados por um dos grandes mestres da Modernidade, torna-se então clara a existência de um mecanismo profícuo para se enfrentar a problemática da criação de um espaço público de representação dos valores de um colectivo contemporâneo: o estudo dos grandes modelos de praças públicas do passado.
Papers and articles by Marta Sequeira
In September 1999 we published an issue of Casas Internacional dedicated to Portuguese architectu... more In September 1999 we published an issue of Casas Internacional dedicated to Portuguese architecture, in which 14 houses were presented. Fifteen years have gone by. Fernando Távora has died, Alvaro Siza grew to a universal scale, Eduardo Souto de Moura was awarded the Pritzker Prize, João Luís Carrilho da Graça and Manuel Aires Mateus were honored with various international awards and, above all, many remarkable projects and buildings were produced. Those that form part of this issue of Casas Internacional were selected on the basis of an ancient premise of Portuguese architecture, the expression of which has been recovered over recent years: that of its relationship with the land.
In four different texts, Le Corbusier suggests that his collective housing project, Immeuble-vill... more In four different texts, Le Corbusier suggests that his collective housing project, Immeuble-villas, of 1922, may have been influenced in its design by a monastery. He was referring to a Carthusian monastery in Galluzzo on the outskirts of Florence known as the Charterhouse of the Valley of Ema, founded in 1342 by Niccolò Acciaioli and which he visited during the trips of 1907 and 1911 that initiated him to the world of architecture and the decorative arts. Various authors mention this analogy, repeating the architect’s own words. However, data available in the archives of the Le Corbusier Foundation show that Le Corbusier’s knowledge of the Carthusian Order was not based on his experience of one monastery alone. If the young Jeanneret had come across the Florence Charterhouse when he went off in search of the tomb of Cardinal Angelo Acciaiuoli, when he fell in love with that monastery he discovered the Carthusian typology. An expedition through “Le Corbusier’s charterhouses” is therefore no more than an incursion into the etymology of modern collective housing.
Academic research in architecture has mainly become a theoretical activity driven away from its s... more Academic research in architecture has mainly become a theoretical activity driven away from its subject’s core, focusing in complementary fields. Analytical investigations are common – concerning historical character, theoretical, constructive or technological – as well as propositional thesis – mainly regarding construction and technology. Yet, you can find much investigation in this scientific area, which find its significance in other domains. However, project-based theses in architecture, in which there are no antagonism or exclusion between theory and practice but rather promote complementarity, are quite scarce. This paper aims to answer the question that seems natural and consistent with the above scenario: how can we define a new paradigm, in which architecture would be understood and portrayed as a system for producing and spreading knowledge?
El Patronato Municipal de la Vivienda construye el barrio habitacional de Montbau entre 1957 y 19... more El Patronato Municipal de la Vivienda construye el barrio habitacional de Montbau entre 1957 y 1969. Éste se sitúa en Valle de Hebrón (distrito de Horta), en la ciudad de Barcelona, en un terreno de 31,7 ha con vistas al mar. Se trata de uno de los núcleos satélite edificados para dar respuesta a la creciente inmigración que la ciudad recibía. El plan se estructura en dos unidades residenciales básicas, un grupo de viviendas, un jardín y un parque forestal. La primera de dos fases del plan es de la autoría de Guillermo Giráldez Dávila, Pedro López Iñigo y Xavier Subías i Fages. Centrando nuestra atención en las secciones transversales de algunos bloques de viviendas de este proyecto, verificamos que una de ellas, la del bloque N (realizado entre 1966 y 1968), resulta singular pues el conjunto de patios y núcleos de escaleras provocan un quiebre de medio piso entre los forjados. Dicho quiebre origina una tipología habitacional única en todo el barrio, en la cual a distintas áreas de cada apartamento corresponden diferentes niveles. López y Subías, ambos arquitectos del Ayuntamiento de Barcelona, participaron en una visita a la exposición internacional Interbau de Berlín, en Septiembre de 1957. Dicha visita había sido organizada por el alcalde Josep Maria de Porcioles y Santiago Cruilles, con el objetivo de tomar conocimiento de los nuevos modelos urbanos internacionales. Revisando dos libros que seguramente consultaron Giráldez, López y Subías, encontramos una planta y una sección que presentan fuertes semejanzas con el bloque N de Montbau. La primera aparece en el catálogo de la exposición internacional Interbau de Berlín; la segunda, en el libro editado a propósito del Congreso CIAM de 1959. Planta y sección corresponden al edificio Hansaviertel en Berlín, de los arquitectos J. H. van den Broek y J. B. Bakema, que formaba parte de la referida exposición. Así, esta comunicación trata de la recreación del proceso que podría haber conducido a Giráldez, López y Subías a la invención del bloque N a partir del proyecto de van den Broek y Bakema. Esta comunicación trata, además, de analizar cómo es que, partiendo del edificio en torre para Hansaviertel, en Berlín, los arquitectos podrían haber proyectado un bloque habitacional con corredores con vista hacia los espacios públicos de Montbau. Con este artículo, se espera contribuir para el estudio de la influencia de las exposiciones internacionales en la arquitectura moderna española.
Con frecuencia, se asume que los espacios públicos de las ciudades proyectadas por Le Corbusier p... more Con frecuencia, se asume que los espacios públicos de las ciudades proyectadas por Le Corbusier preconizaron una ruptura en relación a la historia. Es común pensar que estos espacios no se asemejan en nada a los que, hasta entonces, se habían realizado. Por un lado, esta creencia es alimentada por el desvanecimiento de las referencias paradigmáticas en sus proyectos de espacio público, a través de la evidencia ofuscante de su carácter innovador; por otro, por la interpretación deficiente de algunas observaciones del propio autor – proliferando en sus obras literarias expresiones que enturbian cualquier evocación del pasado, como civilisation machiniste, l’esprit nouveau, l’architecture de demain. Es preciso liberarnos de la maraña de ideas preconcebidas sobre la que se ha construido una idea poco objetiva de modernidad. Así, a partir de un análisis cuidado de la génesis de dos espacios públicos corbusierianos paradigmáticos del período inmediatamente posterior a la Segunda Guerra Mundial, se podrá demostrar que los espacios de la vida pública de Le Corbusier no sólo no establecen una escisión con el pasado histórico, sino que son en sí mismos testimonios de la inexorable continuidad de la creación humana a lo largo de los tiempos. Demostrarlo es el objetivo del texto aquí presentado.
The space created on top of Le Corbusier apartment buildings became, already in the 30s, a new te... more The space created on top of Le Corbusier apartment buildings became, already in the 30s, a new territory for the urban planner. This territory was quite similar to the public space at the ground level of corbuserian cities of the epoch. This article therefore researches the possibility that the same basic concerns and the same projective mechanism were employed both to design the toit-terrasse of the unité d'habitation in the 1940s, and the public space, at the ground level, of the cities in which this housing model was applied.
Stemming from the research project ‘Hotel Architecture in Portugal’ (2008), this essay focuses on... more Stemming from the research project ‘Hotel Architecture in Portugal’ (2008), this essay focuses on the modernist seaside hotel of the 1950s and 1950s. The hotel is understood here not only as the essential foundation element of a string of urban centres along the Portuguese coast, but also as an important dissemination agent for Modern Movement architecture in Portugal. Mostly benefiting from prime locations and unique coastal settings, they appear as icons in the landscape. Their position, perched on the cliffs or at level with the beach, allowed for exceptional panoramas and easy access to leisure activities. They replicate the peculiarities of a rough shoreline and may be considered as quasi pre-urban acts. The hotels thus contribute to the dissemination of modern architecture in places – such as Ofir, Praia da Rocha, Armação de Pêra, Sesimbra and Praia dos Três Irmãos – that were then well removed from the tourists’ arrival points.
The existing bibliography about Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation in Marseille – one of the most ... more The existing bibliography about Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation in Marseille – one of the most important housing projects of the 20th century – is concerned primarily with the study of the apartments within the block. However, Le Corbusier has hinted that what exists on the top of the building is of great relevance. In Les maternelles vous parlent, he focuses his attention on the roofs of the Marseilles and Rézé-les-Nantes’ unités, and in his Œuvre complète, publishes an unusual image where the box-like volume that corresponds to the Marseilles Housing Unit appears only as a white stain, a base whose only function is to support the objects placed on top of it. From this perspective, the roof becomes the main object of the composition, and the roof garden, practically ignored until now, is revealed to be a key element of his urban design. In planning the roof terrace, Le Corbusier shows that the classical public square is not an antiquated concept, and that this new space, when updated and endowed with new life, reflects man’s inherent need for a space where members of the community can gather.
O Ministro da Reconstrução e do Urbanismo francês encarregou Le Corbusier da realização do projec... more O Ministro da Reconstrução e do Urbanismo francês encarregou Le Corbusier da realização do projecto de uma Unité d'habitation para Marselha em Agosto de 1945. No entanto, apenas em 8 de Março de 1946 surge um desenho axonométrico que representa com alguma definição o que se passa na cobertura deste edifício. Durante cerca de 7 meses, a tipologia habitacional absorvera por completo Le Corbusier, mas por o paralelepípedo linear correspondente ao conjunto das habitações constitui um pedestal que coloca em evidência os elementos que suporta. Dos 2387 desenhos do atelier relativos ao projecto Marseille-Michelet Immeuble, que se encontram na Fondation Le Corbusier de Paris, 195 apresentam registos que dizem respeito à cobertura. Desta primeira representação da cobertura da Unité de marselha à arquitectura construida, três características irão permanecer em todos os elementos do projecto. Esta similitude estrutural em todos os desenhos permite-nos fazer uma aproximação ao conteúdo essencial deste toit-jardin.
Este artigo não se centra no resultado do trabalho de Le Corbusier, mas nos três primeiros passos... more Este artigo não se centra no resultado do trabalho de Le Corbusier, mas nos três primeiros passos que o levam à criação - Regarder, Observer, Voir - e, mais especificamente, nos seus desenhos de viagem, procurando reflectir sobre a posição relativa desde a qual observa: a de estar acima.
Book Chapter by Marta Sequeira
Living in Lisbon, 2023
We are in October 2023 and Lisbon is being ravaged by an unprecedented housing crisis. This book ... more We are in October 2023 and Lisbon is being ravaged by an unprecedented housing crisis. This book summarises the open debates in the homonymous exhibition, on view at the Garagem Sul of the Centro Cultural de Belém. The problem is complex and by far surpasses the limits of the exhibition, but the question posed is simple: What can be the role of architecture in a crisis of this nature?
A investigação em arquitectura tem sido, genericamente, uma actividade teórica que tem estado afa... more A investigação em arquitectura tem sido, genericamente, uma actividade teórica que tem estado afastada do âmago da disciplina, orientando-se para âmbitos complementares. São comuns as investigações analíticas – de carácter histórico, teórico, construtivo ou tecnológico –, e as teses propositivas – sobretudo no âmbito da construção e da tecnologia. Há ainda muitas investigações nesta área científica que em boa verdade encontram melhor enquadramento noutros domínios – como o das ciências sociais, para citar apenas um exemplo. No entanto, raras e quase desconhecidas são as teses com base projectual, e em que não exista contraposição nem exclusão entre teoria e prática, mas sim plena complementaridade. Esta reflexão parte então de uma pergunta que parece bastante natural e consequente em relação a este cenário: de que modo poderá ser estabelecido um novo paradigma, desmistificando e concretizando o conceito de investigação e formação avançada em arquitectura com base na investigação em projecto? Este almejo parece exigir o impossível: que a experiência particular da concepção arquitectónica – tradicionalmente entendida como intuitiva e irrepetível e, por isso, inefável – se transforme num veículo para o conhecimento universal. Nesse sentido, parece fundamental colocar o principal problema a enfrentar – o da necessidade de alcance do campo problemático –, o que leva a uma possível hipótese metodológica no âmbito de um curso de doutoramento.
O sistema Modulor é explicado por Le Corbusier de variadas maneiras. É publicitado através de exp... more O sistema Modulor é explicado por Le Corbusier de variadas maneiras. É publicitado através de exposições, aulas, colóquios e conferências. No entanto, o suporte que mais difundiu a invenção foi seguramente o livro, através da publicação de dois volumes, Le Modulor e Modulor 2. O primeiro volume, escrito sobretudo entre Agosto e Dezembro de 1948, e com vários acrescentos de 1949, incide essencialmente no relato de uma descoberta: Le Corbusier descreve a invenção, a sua definição, verificação e, por fim, aplicação; não se trata de uma explicação sincrónica do achado, mas sim de uma visão pautada no tempo, sucessiva, entre arranques de entusiasmo e paragens circunstanciais. O segundo volume, escrito entre 1954 e 1955, é inicialmente pensado como um apêndice que acompanharia o primeiro volume, mas, dada a extensão do conteúdo, e a sua relevância, passa a ser projectado como um segundo livro; trata sobretudo das reacções do público ao invento: os seus fracassos e êxitos, a opinião de críticos e partidários, uma colagem de imagens e situações. Entre linhas, encontramos uma série de considerações autobiográficas e a descrição de uma Europa que emerge das ruínas da guerra.
Na edição portuguesa de Le Modulor e Modulor 2, publicada em 2010, foram introduzidas diversas anotações no final de cada um dos volumes, que cumprem essencialmente três objectivos. Por um lado, prestam esclarecimentos sobre a tradução de determinados excertos ou dão algumas explicações sobre o contexto – social, económico, político, cultural – francófono. Por outro, e passados que são tantos anos desde a primeira edição dos dois volumes, e tendo o mundo sofrido tantas alterações, estabelecem um paralelo com a actualidade. Por último, assinalam ou fazem alguns reparos a pequenas incorrecções das primeiras edições, repercutidas ao longo de tantos anos através de reedições e traduções várias.
Alguns dos lapsos do texto original, identificados ao longo da elaboração desta tradução, correspondem a simples erros ortográficos na redacção dos nomes de algumas personalidades, livros, revistas, empresas, edifícios e cidades. Tal poderá dever-se ao facto de Le Corbusier não dominar totalmente outras línguas que não a francesa ou de nem sempre ter escrito este livro directamente – mas ter ditado parte do seu conteúdo à sua secretária, que não conhecia os temas em questão com profundidade. Ao longo da elaboração da tradução foram no entanto encontradas incongruências de outra ordem, devidas a erros ou omissões em datas, cálculos, traçados de desenhos e descrições de operações geométricas. Nalguns casos, não podemos ter a certeza de se tratar de simples erros de tipografia ou de erros propositados – destinados a exagerar determinadas condições ou a simplificar certos valores.
The exhibition, entitled This Much Longer Morning, comprises twenty two works which Luís Salvater... more The exhibition, entitled This Much Longer Morning, comprises twenty two works which Luís Salvaterra created between 2005 and 2009 – the twelve collages, the nine sculptures and the installation differ in size and in material and
their location in the room establishes a close connection with the space. It features a signifi cant selection of the whole amount of the artist’s work done during the referred span of time and is the artistic outcome of one of his many and varied
inquietudes.
Thesis by Marta Sequeira
The existing bibliography about the Marseilles Housing Unit by Le Corbusier - one of the most imp... more The existing bibliography about the Marseilles Housing Unit by Le Corbusier - one of the most important housing projects of the 20th century -, explores primarily the study of the unit's apartments. However, Le Corbusier gives us some clues that make us believe that what exists on the top of the housing block has great relevance. In Les maternelles vous parlent, he focuses his observation on the roofs of the Marseilles and Rézé-les-Nantes' unités, and publishes, as in uvre complète, an unusual image, where the box-like volume that corresponds to the Marseilles Housing Unit appears only as a white stain, as a base whose only function and aim is to support the objects that are placed on its top. Like Le Corbusier when he drew this image, this dissertation presents the roof as the main object of the composition, a belvedere from which we gaze at the corbusian city, and the starting point from which we formulate the Question concerning the Gathering Place - the same interrogation that Le Corbusier formulated in the moment of the design of this exemplary roof terrace. This question is very relevant in our days, every time we try to define the idea of a gathering place that fits our time, and whenever we come across the difficulties that it implies.
It is commonly accepted that there is a "break with the past" in the genesis of the public places of Le Corbusier's cities, and that these meeting places imply a separation between past and present. This idea is based, on the one hand, by the misinformed interpretation of some of Le Corbusier's remarks - given that his statements, making use of expressions such as "machinist civilization", "the new spirit", "the architecture of tomorrow", cloud and obscure all of the links to the past -, and on the other hand, by the concealment of the paradigmatic references of his public places, caused by the blinding power of its innovative character.
However, we realize that, while sketching these places of communal representation, Le Corbusier recreates the magnificent and picturesque spatiality of the public places of Antiquity, places of representation and glorification of the community that were at the core of the foundation of our culture, and that constitute the essence of our tradition: the greek agora, and the roman forum. Through a refined historical sense but also through abstraction - which amounts to one of the most precious conquests of modern thought - and through the voluntary suspension of temporal compartmentalization, as well as the subsequent evolutionary explanations and cataloguing, Le Corbusier makes use of a synchronic vision of the public places of Antiquity, tying the past to the present, establishing intersections between them.
It were the drawings and models of the roof terrace of the Marseilles Housing Unit and other public places by Le Corbusier, that afforded me the clues, as well as his writings and the records of his travels and research, indication of the elements that he may have seen in the past and used while sketching. From then on, it was possible to follow a deductive path to reach the hypothesis and, simultaneously, its confirmation, to a conclusion that emerged from an uncompromised point of view over the object of study. After getting rid of a web of preconceived ideas, on which a biased idea of modernity was built, it is possible to demonstrate that the corbusian gathering place of the postwar period, does not establish a break with the historical past, but it is evidence of the unshakable continuity of human endeavour.
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Books by Marta Sequeira
He makes several urban plans—for the reconstruction of France, for Bogota and
for Chandigarh, for example—and writes several books on urbanism—The city of
tomorrow and its planning, Precisions, The Radiant City, The Athens Charter, The
Three Human Establishments, just to quote a few examples. This book contributes
to fill in the void regarding the systematic analysis of Le Corbusier’s city scale plans
and, in particular, the public space. The public spaces in Le Corbusier’s plans are usually considered to break with the past and to have nothing whatsoever in common
with the public spaces created before Modernism. This view is fostered by evidence
that masks their innovative character, and also by misinterpretations of some of Le
Corbusier’s own observations and liberal use of words like machine civilization, new
spirit and architecture of tomorrow, which mask any evocation of the past. However,
if we manage to rid ourselves of certain preconceived ideas, which underpin a somewhat less-than-objective idea of modernity, we find that Le Corbusier’s public spaces not only didn’t break with the historical past in any abrupt way but actually testify to the continuity of human creation over time. This is what this book aims to demonstrate through an analysis of some of Le Corbusier’s public spaces dating from the period immediately after the Second World War.
Papers and articles by Marta Sequeira
Book Chapter by Marta Sequeira
Na edição portuguesa de Le Modulor e Modulor 2, publicada em 2010, foram introduzidas diversas anotações no final de cada um dos volumes, que cumprem essencialmente três objectivos. Por um lado, prestam esclarecimentos sobre a tradução de determinados excertos ou dão algumas explicações sobre o contexto – social, económico, político, cultural – francófono. Por outro, e passados que são tantos anos desde a primeira edição dos dois volumes, e tendo o mundo sofrido tantas alterações, estabelecem um paralelo com a actualidade. Por último, assinalam ou fazem alguns reparos a pequenas incorrecções das primeiras edições, repercutidas ao longo de tantos anos através de reedições e traduções várias.
Alguns dos lapsos do texto original, identificados ao longo da elaboração desta tradução, correspondem a simples erros ortográficos na redacção dos nomes de algumas personalidades, livros, revistas, empresas, edifícios e cidades. Tal poderá dever-se ao facto de Le Corbusier não dominar totalmente outras línguas que não a francesa ou de nem sempre ter escrito este livro directamente – mas ter ditado parte do seu conteúdo à sua secretária, que não conhecia os temas em questão com profundidade. Ao longo da elaboração da tradução foram no entanto encontradas incongruências de outra ordem, devidas a erros ou omissões em datas, cálculos, traçados de desenhos e descrições de operações geométricas. Nalguns casos, não podemos ter a certeza de se tratar de simples erros de tipografia ou de erros propositados – destinados a exagerar determinadas condições ou a simplificar certos valores.
their location in the room establishes a close connection with the space. It features a signifi cant selection of the whole amount of the artist’s work done during the referred span of time and is the artistic outcome of one of his many and varied
inquietudes.
Thesis by Marta Sequeira
It is commonly accepted that there is a "break with the past" in the genesis of the public places of Le Corbusier's cities, and that these meeting places imply a separation between past and present. This idea is based, on the one hand, by the misinformed interpretation of some of Le Corbusier's remarks - given that his statements, making use of expressions such as "machinist civilization", "the new spirit", "the architecture of tomorrow", cloud and obscure all of the links to the past -, and on the other hand, by the concealment of the paradigmatic references of his public places, caused by the blinding power of its innovative character.
However, we realize that, while sketching these places of communal representation, Le Corbusier recreates the magnificent and picturesque spatiality of the public places of Antiquity, places of representation and glorification of the community that were at the core of the foundation of our culture, and that constitute the essence of our tradition: the greek agora, and the roman forum. Through a refined historical sense but also through abstraction - which amounts to one of the most precious conquests of modern thought - and through the voluntary suspension of temporal compartmentalization, as well as the subsequent evolutionary explanations and cataloguing, Le Corbusier makes use of a synchronic vision of the public places of Antiquity, tying the past to the present, establishing intersections between them.
It were the drawings and models of the roof terrace of the Marseilles Housing Unit and other public places by Le Corbusier, that afforded me the clues, as well as his writings and the records of his travels and research, indication of the elements that he may have seen in the past and used while sketching. From then on, it was possible to follow a deductive path to reach the hypothesis and, simultaneously, its confirmation, to a conclusion that emerged from an uncompromised point of view over the object of study. After getting rid of a web of preconceived ideas, on which a biased idea of modernity was built, it is possible to demonstrate that the corbusian gathering place of the postwar period, does not establish a break with the historical past, but it is evidence of the unshakable continuity of human endeavour.
He makes several urban plans—for the reconstruction of France, for Bogota and
for Chandigarh, for example—and writes several books on urbanism—The city of
tomorrow and its planning, Precisions, The Radiant City, The Athens Charter, The
Three Human Establishments, just to quote a few examples. This book contributes
to fill in the void regarding the systematic analysis of Le Corbusier’s city scale plans
and, in particular, the public space. The public spaces in Le Corbusier’s plans are usually considered to break with the past and to have nothing whatsoever in common
with the public spaces created before Modernism. This view is fostered by evidence
that masks their innovative character, and also by misinterpretations of some of Le
Corbusier’s own observations and liberal use of words like machine civilization, new
spirit and architecture of tomorrow, which mask any evocation of the past. However,
if we manage to rid ourselves of certain preconceived ideas, which underpin a somewhat less-than-objective idea of modernity, we find that Le Corbusier’s public spaces not only didn’t break with the historical past in any abrupt way but actually testify to the continuity of human creation over time. This is what this book aims to demonstrate through an analysis of some of Le Corbusier’s public spaces dating from the period immediately after the Second World War.
Na edição portuguesa de Le Modulor e Modulor 2, publicada em 2010, foram introduzidas diversas anotações no final de cada um dos volumes, que cumprem essencialmente três objectivos. Por um lado, prestam esclarecimentos sobre a tradução de determinados excertos ou dão algumas explicações sobre o contexto – social, económico, político, cultural – francófono. Por outro, e passados que são tantos anos desde a primeira edição dos dois volumes, e tendo o mundo sofrido tantas alterações, estabelecem um paralelo com a actualidade. Por último, assinalam ou fazem alguns reparos a pequenas incorrecções das primeiras edições, repercutidas ao longo de tantos anos através de reedições e traduções várias.
Alguns dos lapsos do texto original, identificados ao longo da elaboração desta tradução, correspondem a simples erros ortográficos na redacção dos nomes de algumas personalidades, livros, revistas, empresas, edifícios e cidades. Tal poderá dever-se ao facto de Le Corbusier não dominar totalmente outras línguas que não a francesa ou de nem sempre ter escrito este livro directamente – mas ter ditado parte do seu conteúdo à sua secretária, que não conhecia os temas em questão com profundidade. Ao longo da elaboração da tradução foram no entanto encontradas incongruências de outra ordem, devidas a erros ou omissões em datas, cálculos, traçados de desenhos e descrições de operações geométricas. Nalguns casos, não podemos ter a certeza de se tratar de simples erros de tipografia ou de erros propositados – destinados a exagerar determinadas condições ou a simplificar certos valores.
their location in the room establishes a close connection with the space. It features a signifi cant selection of the whole amount of the artist’s work done during the referred span of time and is the artistic outcome of one of his many and varied
inquietudes.
It is commonly accepted that there is a "break with the past" in the genesis of the public places of Le Corbusier's cities, and that these meeting places imply a separation between past and present. This idea is based, on the one hand, by the misinformed interpretation of some of Le Corbusier's remarks - given that his statements, making use of expressions such as "machinist civilization", "the new spirit", "the architecture of tomorrow", cloud and obscure all of the links to the past -, and on the other hand, by the concealment of the paradigmatic references of his public places, caused by the blinding power of its innovative character.
However, we realize that, while sketching these places of communal representation, Le Corbusier recreates the magnificent and picturesque spatiality of the public places of Antiquity, places of representation and glorification of the community that were at the core of the foundation of our culture, and that constitute the essence of our tradition: the greek agora, and the roman forum. Through a refined historical sense but also through abstraction - which amounts to one of the most precious conquests of modern thought - and through the voluntary suspension of temporal compartmentalization, as well as the subsequent evolutionary explanations and cataloguing, Le Corbusier makes use of a synchronic vision of the public places of Antiquity, tying the past to the present, establishing intersections between them.
It were the drawings and models of the roof terrace of the Marseilles Housing Unit and other public places by Le Corbusier, that afforded me the clues, as well as his writings and the records of his travels and research, indication of the elements that he may have seen in the past and used while sketching. From then on, it was possible to follow a deductive path to reach the hypothesis and, simultaneously, its confirmation, to a conclusion that emerged from an uncompromised point of view over the object of study. After getting rid of a web of preconceived ideas, on which a biased idea of modernity was built, it is possible to demonstrate that the corbusian gathering place of the postwar period, does not establish a break with the historical past, but it is evidence of the unshakable continuity of human endeavour.