Human Figure in Le Corbusier's Ideas for Cities

摘要

Vision is one of the most important means of architectural and urban communications. Many original protagonists of modern architecture had supreme confidence in their deterministic power and vision. They believed that properly designed architectural objects and cities would improve not only the form but also the content of the society. Le Corbusier argues that architecture is the key to everything. Thus Modern architects were convinced that their visions were reality, their ideas truth. Embodying many of the values typical of modernity, Le Corbusier planned not only a physical environment, but also proposed a social Utopia. The body, for Le Corbusier, acted as the central referent; its analogy infused biology into the mechanics of the city and building. Based upon the human figure as a system of proportions and harmony, he wants to establish the dualistic arguments for his concept of planning: one is a philosophical argument about geometry, nature, technology; the other is an argument about the social problems resulted from the historical changes and demographical changes in cities. This study is intent on discussing how Le Corbusier used the notion of geometrical order and body, and describing how his principles were recognized and applied to his works.