Beginning in the 1930s, Le Corbusier often spent the summer in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin on the Côte d’Azur. In 1952, he built himself a tiny pied-à-terre there — the “Cabanon”, 15 square meters (18 square yards) in size.
The project provided the stimulus for his intensive preoccupation with residential types and lifestyles embodying spartan, elementary values. The prototypic residential cell, lined with a partly painted “skin”, mainly served for working and sleeping; any sitting was usually done on the restaurant terrace. Equipped with frugal but ingenious box furniture, the Cabanon marks the climax of the many years Le Corbusier spent analysing essential issues in dwelling — the relationship between community values and privacy, luxury and asceticism, culture and nature.
For the Milan Triennale in 2006, the Italian furniture manufacturer Cassina produced an impressive copy of the interior of the Cabanon, which is now being shown at the ETH Zurich, Hönggerberg. Documentation with sketches and photographs provides an insight into the origins and use of the Cabanon.
Date: Thursday, 06. November 2008 to Wednesday, 03. December 2008
Location: Foyer D 30, Building HIL, Hönggerberg, ETH Zurich
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