Little did I know about Charlotte Perriand, a French architect and designer, but that wouldn't really matter because the magnificent building is so impressive whatever is inside will be just fine.
Boy was I in for a surprise... who knew that this multitalented artist was Le Corbusier's sidekick... or shall I say his famous chair was actually designed by a woman named Charlotte Perriand? Her work aimed to create functional living spaces in the belief that better design helps in creating a better society. Her approach to design included taking in the site and appreciating it for what it was.
Charlotte Perriand wanted to work for Le Corbusier and pursue serial production and low-cost housing. She was inspired by Le Corbusier's books, because she thought his writings that criticized the decorative arts aligned with the way she designed. When she applied to work at Le Corbusier's studio in October 1927, she was famously rejected with the reply "We don't embroider cushions here." A month later, Le Corbusier came across her work while visiting the Salon d'Automne, which convinced him to offer her a job in furniture design.
At Le Corbusier's studio, she was in charge of their interiors work and promoting their designs through a series of exhibitions. Perriand described the work as being highly collaborative between Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and herself; they were "three fingers on one hand."
I spent three hours strolling in and out of gallery halls exploring the links between art, architecture and design by a pioneer of modernity, a leading figure of the twentieth century design, who contributed to the definition of a new art de vivre.
Charlotte Perriand truly invented a New World as the exhibition's title promised. It was a pleasure to be taken on the journey of her long, productive, fascinating life.
Recognise the chair and the chaise-longue in front of Fernand Leger's painting?
Charlotte adored Isamu Noguchi's lanterns
A miniature model of Charlotte's world
Snapshot of the past
Avangarde, timeless and so up-to-date
A page out of Charlotte Perriand's scrapbook
The embodiment of Charlotte's vision of a “synthesis of the arts”
Perfect layout for today's chambre de bonne on the 6th floor!
How small, simple and functional can a kitchen be?
My absolute favourite: "Le refuge tonneau" is a
transportable mountain igloo with the interior space of 8m2 built in 1938!
The artist's concepts were in high demand and she worked on many projects from ski resorts to student housing.
Charlotte Perriand put into practice the concept of prefabrication where all components were prefabricated and organized around a tubular steel frame.
The refuge camp for 6 people had everything you needed to stay toasty on a cold winter night.
Charlotte Perriand looks like quite a character!
In 1940 the artist sails for Japan where she has been appointed as an advisor on industrial design to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The teahouse she designed in 1993 in the garden of UNESCO’s global headquarters in Paris, is an affectionate homage to the ones she had visited in Japan.
"La maison au bord de l'eau" never saw physical execution un til the LV foundation decided to give it a go. The plans for "the house by the water" were first drafted over eighty years ago, in 1934.
The inside living space...
... and the original sketch by Charlotte Perriand.
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