Le Corbusier and the Ocean Liner: Metaphor and Machine Aesthetic

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Davis, Grant
Graduate Program:
Architecture
Degree:
Master of Science
Document Type:
Master Thesis
Date of Defense:
March 19, 2020
Committee Members:
Denise Rae Costanzo, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Ute Poerschke, Committee Member
James Gill Cooper, Committee Member
Mehrdad Hadighi, Program Head/Chair
Keywords:
ocean liner
Le Corbusier
semiotics
funnel
smoke stack
mechanical ornament
ornament
heterotopia
modernism
transportation
ship
steamship
housing
Abstract:
The 1923 publication of Towards a New Architecture cemented the association between Le Corbusier, architectural modernism, and the ocean liner. Le Corbusier, along with other modernist thinkers, used the ocean liner as a metaphor for many different ideas: as a design object which meets the demands of mechanics, as a product of the spirt of a new age, and as an example of formal and spatial organization. Despite extensive study of Le Corbusier and his design thinking, including frequent mentions of the influence of ocean liners, critical scholarship to date has yet to grapple with the full implications of the liner’s role in his opus. By creating a chronology of Le Corbusier’s experiences and travels aboard ocean liners and other ships and analysis of their relationship to his theoretical writings and built works, this thesis illuminates the details of the ocean liner’s role as a design device. A series of case studies of his pivotal works, in combination with the timing of his maritime travels, reveals three distinct periods in which the ocean liner influenced Le Corbusier’s work: first as formal icon for modern design, second as a tool for communicating architectural ideas, and third as a template for the efficient design of housing and social infrastructure. Finally, this close analysis demonstrates the reciprocal relationship between maritime and architectural history. In addition, clearer understanding of ocean liner design, in particular elements such as the faux funnel, problematizes the metaphorical image of the ship as an example of pure mechanical function.