Main entry:

Cohen, Jean-Louis.

Title & Author:

Le Corbusier and the mystique of the USSR : theories and projects for Moscow, 1928-1936 / Jean-Louis Cohen ; [translated by Kenneth Hylton].

Publication:

Description:

xvi, 254 pages : illustrations, map ; 29 cm

Notes:
Translation of: Le Corbusier et la mystique de l'URSS.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Introduction: The Moscow Stakes -- Ch. 1. L'Esprit Nouveau and Russia -- Ch. 2. Moscow Observes the Distant Star -- Ch. 3. 1928: Le Corbusier Discovers Moscow -- Ch. 4. The Centrosoyuz Adventure -- Ch. 5. Le Corbusier and Soviet Avant-Garde Theory -- Ch. 6. "Response to Moscow" and the Origins of the "Ville Radieuse" -- Ch. 7. The Palace of Soviets: "Dramatic Betrayal" -- Ch. 8. Moscow Temperatures, Paris Atmosphere.

Summary:

Le Corbusier's arrival in the USSR in October 1928 to build the Moscow headquarters for Centrosoyuz created an international sensation in both the artistic and political communities: finally the crusader of "machine-age architecture" was going to encounter this seemingly modern nation whose economy and culture were in the making. Viewing the Soviet Union as a "factory for blueprints," where his role as an international expert would at last be recognized, Le Corbusier soon met with disappointment. Soviet authorities rejected his urban plan for Moscow, which laid the groundwork for the "Ville Radieuse" (1930) and included designs for the 1932 Palace of Soviet competition. In this detailed, colorful account of the vicissitudes of Le Corbusier's Soviet adventure, translated from the French, Jean-Louis Cohen brings to light a whole cycle of transformations in the architect's project and design strategies while providing new interpretations of Soviet avant-garde culture. It was the USSR, Cohen maintains, that furnished Le Corbusier with one of his greatest sources of artistic inspiration and with an ideological pretext for the extraordinary and often frenzied assertion of his ambitions. All the leading Soviet intellectuals and architects of the period--llya Ehrenburg, Sergei Eisenstein, Moisei Ginzburg, El Lissitzky, and Alexander Vesnin--play major roles in this chronicle of hope and disillusion. Heretofore unpublished drawings and texts illuminate controversies surrounding Le Corbusier's urban doctrine in the face of Soviet "disurbanization" and his violent opposition to the early stages of Stalin's socialist realism.

Resources:
Publisher description

ISBN:

0691040761 (alk. paper)
9780691040769 (alk. paper)

Subject:

Le Corbusier, 1887-1965 Criticism and interpretation.
Le Corbusier, 1887-1965.
Le Corbusier, 1887-1965 Critique et interprétation.
Le Corbusier 1887-1965
Le Corbusier, (1887-1965) Voyages URSS Moscou (Russie)
Le Corbusier, (1887-1965) Appréciation URSS Moscou (Russie)
Le Corbusier.
Galereja "Kino" Moskau
Functionalism (Architecture) Russia (Federation) Moscow.
Architecture Russia (Federation) Moscow History 20th century.
Functionalism (Architecture)
Fonctionnalisme (Architecture)
Architecture 20e siècle.
Fonctionnalisme (Architecture) Russie Moscou.
Architecture Russie Moscou Histoire 20e siècle.
functionalism.
Architecture
Buildings
Architektur
Bildband
Projets d'architecture 1900-1945.
Architecture Concours URSS Moscou (Russie) 1900-1945.
Urbanisme URSS Moscou (Russie) 1900-1945.
Fonctionnalisme (architecture) Russie Moscou (Russie)
Architecture 20e siècle Russie.
Moscow (Russia) Buildings, structures, etc.
Moscou (Russie) Constructions.
Russia (Federation) Moscow
Moskau
Moscow

Form/genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.
History
Books.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 152202
Call No.: NA44.L433.23 C6 1992
Status: External loan