The History of the Le Corbusier Chair

Amy M. Miller

The Le Corbusier chair and Le Corbusier sofa are still recreated to this day and used by many professional interior designers to make their modern and elegant designs come to life. Le Corbusier furniture was designed many years ago by a talented architect who had strong opinions on the aesthetics and uses of furniture. The architectural team that designed the Le Corbusier look created a timeless design that is still used in many furniture showrooms. There are also many modern furniture designers that have used Le Corbusier chairs and Le Corbusier sofas as an inspiration for their own designs. There are many pieces of furniture designed by today’s top furniture designers that are similar to the design of Le Corbusier furniture.

The Le Corbusier design was developed by Charles-Edouard Jeannert-Gris. He later chose to be known as Le Corbusier and became famous for his architecture, design, writings and paintings. The artist is known mainly for developing the design known as Modern Architecture, or “International Style.” In 1928, Le Corbusier started to turn his interest toward furniture and the architecture of furniture design. Le Corbusier chairs and Le Corbusier sofas were developed after the artist invited an architect named Charlotte Perrinand to join his project. The two talented designers started on a line of furniture that was meant to mix the media of metal and cushioning in order to give a modern yet elegant design. In 1925, Le Corbusier wrote a book that outlined his expectations of furniture style and functionality. He used his own teachings from this book to design the line of furniture that is still popular today. Le Corbusier thought of furniture as a work of art that is also useful for humans and can be comfortable.

Le Corbusier designed a Le Corbusier chair that involved chrome-plated tubular structures. Two of these designs were used in Le Corbusier’s famous architectural projects. These designs were modified until they became the world famous Le Corbusier furniture designs that are known today. Le Corbusier also expanded his designs to include a Le Corbusier sofa and other “home equipment” as he called it. Nowadays, there are many furniture designers that are influenced by Le Corbusier furniture. They use the designs as an inspiration to their current lines of home furniture. There are furniture manufacturers that have bought the rights to the Le Corbusier designs and are legally able to reproduce the exact designs of the talented architect.

This article is part of Chicago art and Chicago gallery discussion series.

Amy M. Miller has extensive experience and specializes in living room furniture. She has written a series of articles for our Chicago gallery.

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