Design Principles by Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier was one of the most influential figures of 20th-century modern architecture. His work challenged conventional ideas about how buildings should be planned, constructed and experienced, replacing heavy load-bearing walls and historical ornament with reinforced concrete, structural frames, open plans and new relationships between buildings and their surroundings. Yet his architecture was not simply about creating minimalist forms. Behind the visual language was a larger philosophy concerned with function, human scale, construction, proportion, light and the relationship between architecture and everyday life. The Fondation Le Corbusier describes recurring ideas in his work through concepts such as the Five Points of New Architecture, the Dom-Ino structural system and the Modulor system.
Across his career, these ideas evolved considerably. His early white villas demonstrate the principles of the modern movement, while his later buildings embrace exposed concrete, monumental forms and a much more tactile architectural language. The following principles help explain some of the recurring ideas behind this transformation.
Functionalism
Functionalism in Le Corbusier’s architecture means allowing the programme, human needs and activities of a building to influence its spatial organisation. Rather than treating architecture as a decorative enclosure, he approached buildings as carefully organised environments in which circulation, dwelling, working and collective activities could be coordinated efficiently. This thinking was closely connected to his concept of the house as a “machine for living” and to his experiments with standardisation and modular construction. His Dom-Ino system, developed in 1914, separated the structural frame from internal organisation, making different spatial arrangements possible within a standardised construction system.
Project example: Unité d’Habitation, Marseille
The Unité d’Habitation demonstrates this approach at an urban scale. Instead of functioning simply as a stack of apartments, the building was conceived as a “vertical city”, combining 330 housing units with collective amenities and internal commercial facilities. Apartments were organised through standardised modules, while shopping streets, communal facilities and extensive roof amenities brought multiple aspects of daily life into one structure. Its organisation demonstrates Le Corbusier’s attempt to make collective housing both efficient and socially functional.
Béton Brut
Béton brut, literally meaning “raw concrete,” describes Le Corbusier’s deliberate use of exposed concrete as a finished architectural material. Instead of covering the concrete structure with decorative finishes, he allowed its surface, texture and even formwork impressions to remain visible. This became particularly important in his post-war work and contributed significantly to the architectural movement later known as Brutalism. The Fondation Le Corbusier identifies his post-1950 work as strongly associated with the use of untreated materials and visible formwork traces.
For Le Corbusier, exposed concrete was not simply an aesthetic preference. Reinforced concrete allowed him to create large structural spans, monumental forms and deep sun-shading elements while simultaneously giving the buildings a strong material identity. The resulting surfaces could appear heavy and monumental while still being shaped into highly expressive geometries.
Project example: Palace of Assembly, Chandigarh
The Palace of Assembly in Chandigarh is an especially strong example of this material approach. The building uses raw exposed concrete across its major structural and architectural elements, with the timber formwork marks and surface irregularities intentionally remaining visible. Its monumental concrete forms include the dramatic hyperbolic-paraboloid roof over the main assembly chamber and the large tilted geometric elements that define its silhouette. The exposed material works together with deep sun-breakers and sculptural geometry to create a building that is simultaneously functional, climatic and monumental.
The Modulor
The Modulor was Le Corbusier’s proportional system based on human dimensions and mathematical relationships. Developed primarily between 1943 and 1950, it attempted to establish a universal system of measurements that could connect the scale of the human body with architectural dimensions. The system was eventually based on a figure measuring 1.83 metres, or six feet, with a raised-arm height of 2.26 metres. Its measurements were related to mathematical sequences including the Fibonacci series and the golden ratio.
The idea was to move away from purely abstract dimensional systems and create architectural proportions that related directly to human scale. The Modulor could therefore influence dimensions of rooms, furniture, openings, structural elements and circulation. It also complemented Le Corbusier’s interest in standardisation by providing a proportional framework that could be repeatedly applied across different architectural components.
Project example: Unité d’Habitation, Marseille
The Unité d’Habitation was designed using the Modulor system, making it one of the clearest built examples of the concept. Its apartments were organised using standardised dimensional modules, with different apartment types assembled within the larger structural framework. The system helped coordinate the proportions of spaces and elements while maintaining a relationship with human scale. The Fondation Le Corbusier explicitly identifies the Marseille building as being constructed according to the Modulor.
Roof Gardens
The roof garden was one of Le Corbusier’s Five Points of a New Architecture, developed alongside ideas such as pilotis, the free plan, the free façade and horizontal windows. Reinforced-concrete construction made flat roofs possible, and Le Corbusier argued that these roofs could be transformed into usable terraces and gardens instead of remaining purely functional weatherproofing surfaces. The roof consequently became an additional layer of usable space within the building.
The principle also had an environmental and spatial dimension. A planted roof could compensate for some of the ground occupied by a building while providing an outdoor space elevated above the surrounding landscape. More broadly, Le Corbusier treated the roof as part of the architectural experience, using ramps and terraces to create movement through the building and towards the sky.
Project example: Villa Savoye, Poissy
Villa Savoye provides perhaps the clearest illustration of the roof-garden principle. Its flat roof becomes an accessible terrace and planted outdoor space, while a ramp connects the lower levels to the roof solarium. The roof therefore becomes part of the building’s circulation and spatial experience rather than simply terminating the structure. The official Villa Savoye documentation identifies the roof garden as one of Le Corbusier’s Five Points and describes the accessible terraces and solarium.
Le Corbusier’s architecture was built around a fundamental rethinking of how buildings could respond to function, construction, human scale and the environment.
Conclusion
Functional planning allowed buildings to operate as organised systems; béton brut turned construction material into architectural expression; the Modulor connected architectural dimensions with the human body; and roof gardens transformed otherwise unused surfaces into active parts of the building.
Together, these ideas helped establish a new architectural vocabulary that moved away from historical imitation and towards reinforced concrete, standardisation, open planning, geometric clarity and human-scaled proportion. His principles continue to influence modern architecture, particularly in discussions around modular construction, collective housing, material expression and the relationship between structure and architectural form.
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FAQs
1. What are Le Corbusier’s main architectural principles?
Some of his most influential ideas include the Five Points of New Architecture, functional planning, exposed concrete, human-scaled proportions through the Modulor and the integration of usable roof terraces and gardens.
2. What is béton brut in Le Corbusier’s architecture?
Béton brut means “raw concrete” and refers to the deliberate use of exposed concrete without concealing its natural surface or formwork marks. It became particularly prominent in his post-war architecture.
3. What is the Modulor system?
The Modulor is Le Corbusier’s proportional system based on human body measurements and mathematical relationships, developed to create dimensions that connect architectural scale with the human body.
4. What are Le Corbusier’s Five Points of Architecture?
The Five Points are pilotis, free plan, free façade, horizontal ribbon windows and roof gardens. Together, they describe how reinforced-concrete construction could create a new architectural approach.
5. Which building best demonstrates Le Corbusier’s principles?
There is no single answer, but Villa Savoye is the clearest demonstration of the Five Points, while Unité d’Habitation strongly demonstrates his ideas of collective housing, standardisation and the Modulor. The Palace of Assembly in Chandigarh showcases his later use of raw concrete, monumental geometry and climate-responsive architecture.
