Word: corbu
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...Corbu" began "sniffing out the site," as he puts it, in 1953. He chose a slope to back his monastery against, propped on pillars. Then he listened and took notes while the late Dominican patron of the arts, Pere Couturier, explained the and problems of the Dominican discipline ("Here we walk in double file. Here we prostrate ourselves"). For three years Corbusier and his associates worked over the plans. The result is a rugged interplay of concrete masses and angles-a top example of the architectural style that is sometimes referred to as "the new brutalism...
...rooms below-refectory, library, oratory and classrooms -Corbusier's creative fancies take over in a profusion of pyramids, cubes and parallelepipeds, doors in solid primary colors against the white concrete walls. Water pipes (painted bright blue) and electrical conduits are everywhere exposed. The building's insides, says Corbu, are nothing to be ashamed...
...pyramid-topped oratory, the church and its curvilinear chapel (which Corbusier calls "the rock" and the monks, despite his protests, call "the ear"), there are no statues. "There will be no distraction from images," Corbu told the monks. "If you want to be good fellows and show some friendship for your poor devil of an architect, you can do it by formally refusing every gift of stained glass, or images, or statues, which kill everything...
...Corbu was cozy about his plans for the center, borrowed a line from Wright: "It must grow from the inside out. The concept must be biological, not static. A beautiful seashell is not a façade; it is a shell. This is the essence of architecture." This left Harvard wondering whether it was getting a structure as beautiful as a conch or as homely as a clam. But as it would be his only showpiece in the U.S., Corbu could be counted on to make it impressive...
Surrounding himself with all the secrecy of a high diplomatic emissary, Corbu flew in from Paris in person to make a four-day inspection of the site (adjacent to the Fogg Art Museum), was given convincing proof that his absence had long been noted. Architecture students staged an impromptu reception, complete with 16-ft. effigies of Corbu's stylized Modulor figure, cheered him to the rafters. Exclaimed the delighted Corbu: "What spirit! Une atmosphere morale...