Le Corbusier/New York

“Each city I visit appears to me under its own light. I feel certain needs. I set myself an appropriate line of conduct for my public.” - Le Corbusier, “Precisions,” 1930 On June 8 and 9, the Center for Architecture and The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) will present a two-day international symposium that will take an in-depth look at the illustrious French architect’s relationship to New York. The program features an exclusive preview of MoMA’s upcoming exhibition Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes by its curator Jean-Louis Cohen. Engaging lectures at the Center for Architecture will follow. Peter Eisenman, FAIA, Yale Professor Stanislaus von Moos, Columbia Professor Mary McLeod, MoMA’s Chief Curator of Architecture and Design Barry Bergdoll, Jean-Louis Cohen, and others will discuss how Le Corbusier’s ideas about New York influenced his work and how, in turn, Le Corbusier’s legacy impacted the city’s built environment. The second day, Sunday, June 9, will be dedicated to a tour of the United Nations Headquarters. Led by Assistant Secretary-General Michael Adlerstein, FAIA, and Public Information Officer Werner Schmidt – both from United Nations Capital Master Plan – participants will explore the building's architectural history, including Le Corbusier’s contentious collaboration with the project’s main architect Oscar Niemeyer. The guides will also highlight the recent restoration of the Secretariat, which houses the UN's working spaces, and the historic renovation of the three Chambers of the Conference Building. “Le Corbusier’s work made a tremendous impression on many architects’ educations and careers, including my own,” says Jill N. Lerner, FAIA, 2013 AIANY President. “We are therefore delighted to be working with The Museum of Modern Art and many distinguished architects and scholars on this symposium. The far reaching discussion, looking back on an individual of major consequence in the 20th century, will highlight an early example of global practice.” Jean-Louis Cohen, the curator of Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes, said, “Le Corbusier’s global practice of urbanism and architecture, along with his constant travels to places increasingly distant from Europe, resulted in a personal cartography assembled in the form of the thousands of postcards that both situated his projects and recorded his trips.” To register for the symposium, visit http://bit.ly/YLu70F. All tickets include reserved seats to the symposium, and registration to MoMA exhibition tour and United Nations Headquarters tour, along with Saturday breakfast, lunch, and reception. A program of MoMA’s exhibition Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes. A complete schedule is available here. Organized by: Center for Architecture and the Museum of Modern Art, New York Co-sponsored by: AIANY Interiors Committee, AIANY Cultural Facilities Committee, and AIANY Historic Buildings Committee - RELATED EVENT: Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes