Le Corbusier's Le Convent De La Tourette, Lyon, France

La Tourette was built as a Dominican priest school. This meant to Corbusier that he had to design a machine to enable one hundred men to live together in a community with strict rules – men who prepare for their priesthood by study and meditation. Dominican rules and daily routines got to be the basis for the program. There is a balance between work and prayer, solitude and forgathering. Corbusier successfully created a silent place of meditation, study and peace.

Concrete cracking, defective insulation and dangerously installed electricity, calls for a complete restoration of La Tourette. It's now closed and I visited here a few days ago. Not a soul was to be seen. It was silent and beautiful. I studied Le Corbusier when I was an architect student and I fell in love with his brutalism style.

I did not get into the convent itself, but things were lying about, broken windows and even some graffiti in places. Not what I expected coming from one of Le Corbusier's most famous buildings!

Anyways, hope you like the pictures... I'm sure if this was in the UK it would be described as an "eyesore"

It looks wierd, but in a strange and funny kind of way, I do like it. Definitely like the architecture.

Very nice pics Missy,

Cheers,

Sal

8333696 said:

I studied Le Corbusier when I was an architect student and I fell in love with his brutalism style.

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I went through a phase of being totally obsessed with Le Corbusier and his use of the 'golden mean' when I was at art college. Such a shame that the building's just been neglected like that...the windows are amazing. Fab find, 8.

Good stuff Gorecki, you managed to satisfy your Corb fetish! All my lecturers were Corb followers, but they never managed to convert me. Aalto all the way. Anyhow, it's a pity that it's lying empty, if they're not careful it will become another Cardross.

wolfism said:

Anyhow, it's a pity that it's lying empty, if they're not careful it will become another Cardross.

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Exactly what I thought

Good to see you're getting some French shizzle done

I must admit I've always been a bit of a concrete fiend - I hope we will see a change in attitude to 1960s architecture - the Brunswick Shopping Centre in London, Rotunda in Birmingham and Park Hill in Sheffield are certainly suggesting so.