Homme type - Homme réel: review of the evolution of Le Corbusier's idea of man as an introduction to the understanding of his architecture

Abstract

“Constructing the architecture of men” or “men are the ones who truly matters” are phrases that Le Corbusier repeats frequently. His work could be understood as a consequence of his understanding of “this man” and the social order he supports. Both ideas evolve throughout the life of the architect and as a consequence so will the artistic and architectural proposals realized in his name. The Homme type Le Corbusier of the 20s and 30s is conceived under the influence of the industrial revolution of the first decades of the 20th century as another piece in the precise gear of the great machinery in the city of the new times. The failure of the social and economic approaches, represented by the two world wars, as well as some determined personal circumstances provoke a progressive variation of this vision towards a conception of man in opposite terms. The Homme type varies progressively towards the Homme réel of the postwar period whose development upholds new variables including “freedom, “spontaneity” and “creativity.” It was in the decade of the 50s, in the convent of la Tourette, where he finally realizes the opportunity to reflect and to present in a dual manner his ideals of men and architecture.