Thursday, June 28, 2007

Le Corbusier's French cabin - now available in Tokyo












"J'ai un château sur la Côte d'Azur, qui fait 3,66 mètres par 3,66 mètres." Charles-Edouard Jeanneret/Le Corbusier certainly loved his cabin/shed Le Petit Cabanon in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin (pictured). It was a very simple shedworking space built in 1952 for his wife Yvonne with two beds, a small desk, lavatory and washing facilities (they ate in the little café right next door). Built over six months using rough pine boards for the exterior and plywood and oak inside, apparently his first plan was to use aluminium cladding. It was essentially his last major piece of work, "Not a square centimetre wasted! A little cell at human scale where all functions were considered," was how he described it. And on show at the moment until September 24 in Tokyo's Mori Art Museum is a replica of this famous cabin as part of a retrospective of the great man's work. If you want to see the original one, it's only open Tuesdays mornings and Fridays and you have to book ahead. More details from the local tourist office.

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