Le Corbusier – The Radiant City

Le Corbusier – The Radiant City

The Radiant City is composed of pre-fabricated apartment houses (les unites) available for up to 2,700 inhabitants of all social classes. Transportation was clearly delineated, elevators provided the primary method of vertical transport while corridor streets were eliminated. Automobiles were separated to elevated roadways, and other transportation methods had their own paths. The commercial areas of the City were positioned to the north, providing up to 3,200 jobs per building. The services afforded to the residents are also clearly defined by Le Corbusier. To reduce overproduction and to increase leisure time, work days were reduced to five hours a day, which allows for people to use the sports grounds around the buildings, or gardens on top of them. Chores were taken care of by catering sections and laundry areas.

Charles Edoard Jeanneret theorized a utopian city around the years 1930-1935, known commonly as The Radiant City, which is seen as revolutionary and extraordinary. It is now accepted by everyone as a complete failure. In the places it was attempted, such as Firminy (a French mining town), it was consistently out of context, and aesthetically unappealing. It is unaccepted in that places such as New York City rejected the full scale implementation of the plan. While brilliant in theory, the awkwardness and simple inappropriateness of the concept prevents it from being realized in most all places.
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