Le Corbusier’s Pavilion for Zurich

Catherine Dumont d'Ayot, born in France in 1965, studied architecture at theUniversity of Geneva and at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne. She hasbeen teaching and researching at the University of Geneva since 1995 and at the ETHZürich since 2006.Tim Benton, born in Rome in 1945, was educated at Cambridge and the CourtauldInstitute of Art, London. He taught for forty years at the Open University England andis currently professor emeritus in the history of art.

Le Corbusier's Pavilion for Zurich uses numerous handwritten documents, drawings,and papers to trace the history of Le Corbusier's last built work. This dwelling,which is also a museum, was initiated by Zürich gallery owner Heidi Weber. With itsabstract forms and colors, it represents an intellectual legacy of the famous architectin which the further development of architecture as envisaged by Le Corbusier isclearly legible. From the first ideas and sketches from 1949-50 to the opening in 1967and beyond, the genesis of this exceptional building-the completion of which thearchitect did not live to see-is presented with lavish use of illustrations and documents.This book explains for the first time the significance of the pavilion, whichdiffers strongly from the beton brut of Le Corbusier's late work, in terms of its positionas one of the architect's central and forward-looking works.