Who was Le Corbusier?
Simply put, he was a rock star in his industry.
Le Corbusier was born Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris on October 6, 1887. He was the second son of Edouard Jeanneret, an artist who painted dials in the town’s renowned watch industry and his mother was Madame Jeannerct-Perrct, a musician and piano teacher.
Le Corbusier was a Swiss-born French architect who was part of the first generation of the “so-called” International school of architecture. Le Corbusier loved to build with steel and reinforced concrete as well as worked with elemental geometric forms.
He was an urban planner and designed entire cities in India. He ended up changing his name to Le Corbusier and did nude sketches of Josephine Baker. The man married a fashion model and later, after she died, carried around one of her vertebra in his pocket. I mean, this was a very intense guy!
In 1928 he teamed up with a couple of pals and began experimenting with furniture design.
By 1930 he, along with his cousin Pierre Jeanneret and fellow architect Charlotte Perriand, had launched a line of furniture under the Le Corbusier name. The line has since been expanded, but the distinct chrome plated tubular steel frames of the original LC series are iconic. The LC4 lounge is one of the most recognizable chairs around and the LC-2 and LC-3 ‘great comfort sofas’ have become ubiquitous with modern design. The LC line is still produced by Cassina and the designs are essentially the same as they have been since 1928.
How to tell an original from an imitation?
Each item from the collection is indelibly marked with the Cassina I Maestri logotype, the signature of the authors and the progressive ID production number to make each item unique. In addition, the Cassina logo can be seen on the LC2, LC3 and LC4 models. If the furniture piece does not have the signature stamp then it is counterfeit.
Cassina is the only company that is authorized to produce the authentic Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand furniture collections. Cassina is the only company to have acquired exclusive, worldwide production rights through a license signed with the co-authors and the Le Corbusier Foundation in 1964.
A light, compact chair designed and presented at the 1929 Salon d’Automne along with other important models, such as the LC2 and LC3 armchairs, the LC6 table and the LC4 chaise-longue. As with all of Le Corbusier’s works, the LC1 derives from an in-depth study of human posture. In this particular case, the chair is intended to be relaxing and to foster conversation.
The balance between form and function is achieved through the use of the Modulor, a system based on the typical measurements of the male body and on a mathematical language informed by the proportions of universal harmony. Its perfect simplicity, suited to any context, is available in three versions. In addition to the 1929 model, there is the 1928 Villa Church option, and the one exhibited in 1930 at the Union des Artistes Modernes. The chair’s LC-Y leather and trivalent chromium plating hold Greenguard Environmental Institute certification.
Chair dimensions: 23.6″W x 25.5″D x 25.6″H
Year of design: 1928
Year of production: 1965
LC2, 1928Timeless, unique, and profoundly authentic, the LC2 armchair has played a role in the history of furniture design, becoming a worldwide icon. Created to enhance conversation, this armchair was exhibited at the Salon d’Automne in Paris in 1929, as an archetype of the modern conception of furniture, dubbed “domestic equipment” by its creators.
The separation of metal frame from upholstery expresses the rationalist approach, this same separation responds to the logic of industrial manufacture, while also evoking the architectural relationship between the load-bearing structure and the walls. The balance between form and function derives form an in-depth study of human posture human body and through the use of the Modulor, a system based on the typical measurements of the male body and on a mathematical language informed by the proportions of universal harmony.
Diminsions: 70.9″W x 21.2″D x 26.8″H
Year of Design: 1928
Year of Production: 1965
LC3, 1928
The LC3 armchair marked the separation of the metal frame from the upholstery, reflecting Modernist architecture theory, where the support load-bearing structure of the building was separated from the rest. In this case, four discrete cushions are set inside a cage of painted or chrome-finished steel tubes. The same device is adopted for all the other pieces in the collection, from the armchair with an arm-rest on one side only or on both, to the two- or three-seater sofas.Over a period of many years, Cassina worked closely with Charlotte Perriand, her heir, as well as with the Fondation Le Corbusier reinterpreting the original design while respecting its original intent, to bring new versions and finishes of this furniture to market. Among these is the variant dubbed LC3 Outdoor. This has a stainless steel frame, with cushions in a self-draining polyurethane material, making it robust and reliable whatever the weather conditions.
LC4, 1928
Designed in 1928 this chair became famous in 1965 with Cassina, the LC4 is the definitive chaise longue: built in a shape designed for relaxation, the chair was created when the three designers teamed together to put man at the centre of their design, taking the idea that form and function should be at the service of relaxation, creating a perfect balance between its geometric purity and its ergonomic intent. The stability of the frame – for any angle of inclination is guaranteed by the friction through rubber tubes that cover the cross bar of the base.
Dimensions: 64″L x 22.2″W x 10.8″H
Year of Design: 1928
Year of Production: 1965
