Classic Design: Le Corbusier’s Cabin
How much space does a person need if it is used to live a simple life and place a soul?
From 1951 to 1952, Le Corbusier designed the Cabanon de Cap-Martin, the only residence he built for himself, in Cape Martin, by the sea in southern France. In an interview, Corbusier said, “I feel so good in my cabin, I’d love to die here, no question.”
This small chalet, less than 15 square meters (3.66X3.66m), integrates everything that Corbusier thinks life needs: a bed, a fixed workbench, a pair of container-shaped stools, a locker, and the wash basin set to the stand. The toilet is located in a cubicle at the end of the entrance. Le Corbusier painted the floor yellow and the ceiling green and red. He decorated a fresco at the entrance in 1956, which is the only luxury in this “cabin.” Le Corbusier did not make the side facing the bay into a Mies-style oversized floor-to-ceiling glass window — he only opened two windows, one large and one small, beside the workbench. This cabin, in his mind, is just like his spirit rest place; any hustle and bustle of decor and eye-catching views of the outside are superfluous. After building the chalet, Corbusier returned to a simple and poetic life every summer to read and write; during this period, he even brewed the creation of the Ronchamp Chapel in the chalet.
Le Corbusier was one of the greatest architects of the 20th century and a radical leader of the modern architectural movement. His modernist design philosophy has influenced us to this day. After designing a series of significant modernist buildings (such as the Villa Savoy). In his later years, Corbusier tried to use this “cabin” to answer: How much space does a person need if it is used to live a simple life and place a soul?
