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Stirling
RONCHAMP
I E CORBSIER'S CHAPEL AND THE CRISIS OF RATIONALISM
With the simultaneous appearance of Lever House in New York and the Unit in
Marseilles, it had become obvious that the stylistic schism between Europe and the New
World had entered on a decisive phase. The issue of art or technology had divided the
ideological basis of the modern movement, and the diverging styles apparent since
Constructivism probably have their origin in the attempt to fuse Art Nouveau and late
19th century engineering. In the U.S.A., functionalism now means the adaptation to
building of industrial processes and products, but in Europe it remains the essentially
humanist method of designing to a specific use. The post-war architecture of America
may appear brittle to Europeans and, by obviating the hierarchical disposition of
elements, anonymous; however, this academic method of criticism may no longer be
adequate in considering technological products of the 20th century. Yet this method
would still appear valid in criticizing recent European architecture where the elaboration
of space and form has continued without abatement; and the chapel by Le Corbusier
may possibly be the most plastic building ever erected in the name of modern architecture.
The south tower of the chapel, emerging as a white thumb above the landscape, can
be seen for many miles as one approaches the Swiss border. The rolling hills and green
woodlands of the Haute-Sane are reminiscent of many parts of England and Wales,
and the village of Ronchamp spreads along either side of the Dijon-Basle road. After
climbing a steep and winding dirt-track, leading from the village through dense woodland.
one reaches the bald crown of the hill on which the chapel is situated. The sweep of the
roof, inverting the curve of the ground, and a single dynamic gesture give the
composition an expression of dramatic inevitability. The immediate impression is of a
sudden encounter with an unnatural configuration of natural elements such as the granite
rings at Stonehenge or the dolmens in Brittany.