Le Corbusier’s projects have become canonical in the worlds of architecture and design. And it seems he’s been everywhere lately – late last year (which would have been his 125th birthday) Girard Perregaux released a collection of timepieces inspired by the master architect and an exhibition of his photography “Le Corbusier 125” made the rounds. Later this summer, MoMA will show “Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes” (June 9–September 23, 2013). And currently on view is a reconstruction of the interior of his iconic Cabanon at Cassina Miami (3800 NE Miami Court, Miami Design District).
Opening during Design Miami/ last month, the reconstruction celebrates Cassina’s 80th anniversary and the 25-year relationship between the design house and Le Corbusier. Cassina is the only company that has the right to produce products designed by Le Corbusier – an estate that is understandably very controlling of its copyright both in object and in image. The point: your chance to visit this reconstruction is rare so this is worth seeing before it closes on January 20.
The Cabanon is described as comprising “the ideal conditions of architectural planning.” Le Corbusier built it as a sea-side cabin in 1952 for his personal holidays in Cap-Martin, France. “The space is planned around the physical needs of the person, without other interferences; from the person’s proportions to the person’s bodily needs,” Gianluca Armento, brand director at Cassina, told us recently.
Cabanon exists as an important example of Le Corbusier’s lasting influence on design. As Armento told us, it showcases two key aspects of his oeuvre, first “his development of a new standard in geometric form, made possible by the use of cement and metals,” and secondly “his placement of the responsibility on the commissioning party when it comes to making an architectural creation successful in satisfying the commissioner’s need for improvement of his interactions with the new space.”
