Annotation The residence at 24 rue Nungesser et Coli in Paris was built in 1931-34 by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret. It was precisely this building which gave exemplary expression to Le Corbusier's "Cinq points de l'architecture moderne."

the construction of the apartment block at number 24, rue Nungesser et Coli in Paris, between 1931 and 1934, was an important milestone for Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret. It was the first opportunity offered to them in France to put to the test theories on urbanism and architecture, which they had been working on since the 1920s ("cinq points de l architecture moderne"), and marks an important stage on the path to Brutalism. And it is of all the more interest because of the apartment and art studio Le Corbusier designed for the top two floors of the building and in which he lived from 1934 until his death in 1965. Historical documents and drawings make this handy-sized volume an invaluable guide for visitors and a practical introduction for all architectural enthusiasts.

the Unité in Marseille (1945-1952) was a pioneering achievement at a time when social housing in the post WWII years posed an immense problem. Freed from restrictive regulations for the first time Le Corbusier was able to put into practice his concept of modern social housing. A milestone of modern architecture and subject of controversial debate, the Unité in Marseille continues to attract numerous visitors and students of architecture. This volume is the latest addition to Birkhäuser's series of guides to Le Corbusier's most acclaimed buildings, and includes an additional chapter on his Unités in Rezé-les-Nantes, Briey en Forêt, Firminy and Berlin. The author, a practising architect and well known le Corbusier specialist, lives in Marseille and teaches at the Ecole d'architecture de Marseille-Luminy.

in 1923/24 Henry Frugès, a Bordeaux industrialist commissioned Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret with a "small workers housing estate" in Lège and a garden city in Pessac, comprising 130 to 150 houses with shops. These two housing schemes fitted neatly into the architects research on standardisation and the "machine à habiter", and provided a useful laboratory for gauging public opinion with regard to mass-production techniques in housing estates. One of the most striking features of the Cité Frugès was the use of polychromy on the exterior facades, to, in Le Corbusier's own words, "sculpt the space through the physical quality of colour - bring forward some volumes while making others recede. In short, compose with colour in the same way as we have composed with form. This is how architecture is transformed into urbanism." Historical documents and drawings make this handy-sized volume an invaluable guide for visitors and a practical introduction for all architectural enthusiasts.

in 1952 Le Corbusier was commissioned "to dwell in the silence of men of prayer and study and to construct a church for them". The result was his impressive Convent of La Tourette, marking a significant step in modern religious architecture. Beginning with the rectangular form common to the Cirstercian monastic tradition, he created a building whose stark form contrasts beautifully with the organic elements of the interior court and the grasslands surrounding it. The church itself is a model of simplicity, the cement has been left rough and the well located sources of light evoke a feeling of silence and reflection. The order s precept of prayer, study and reflection is aptly mirrored in the architecture. Like the other Le Corbusier Guides published by Birkhäuser, this volume provides a wealth of plans, details, photographs and information on this building which today is also a conference centre.

The pilgrimage church Notre-Dame-du-Haut in Ronchamp (1950–54), an icon of modern architecture, represents one of the central buildings of Le Corbusier’s late period. Like all the guides in this series, this book is indispensable both for a specialist audience and for tourists interested in architecture and modern art.

le Corbusier: "La Roche, when one owns such a splendid art collection as yours, one must construct a house that does it honour." - La Roche: "Very well then, build this house for me." This was the genesis of the Villa La Roche (1923-1925), a brilliant synthesis of residence and private gallery, as recounted by the Swiss banker and collector of Cubist art, Raoul la Roche. The developmental leap which Le Corbusier made in his architecture and the liberty of expression in his use of colour, light and spatial organisation which he discovered during the final stages of this project inaugurated his rise to one of the giants of 20th century architecture. This guide leads the reader through both the Villa La Roche and the attached Villa Jeanneret, which houses the Fondation Le Corbusier.