Pavillon Le Corbusier, Zürich, Switzerland

The Pavillon Le Corbusier is a Swiss art museum dedicated to the work of the Swiss architect Le Corbusier. In 1960 Heidi Weber had the vision to establish a museum designed by Le Corbusier – this building should exhibit his works of art in an ideal environment created by the architect himself in the then Centre Le Corbusier or Heidi Weber Museum. It is the last building designed by Le Corbusier marking a radical change of his achievement of using concrete and stone, framed in steel and glass, in the 1960s created as a signpost for the future. Le Corbusier made intensive use of prefabricated steel elements combined with multi-coloured enamelled plates fitted to the central core, and above the complex he designed a 'free-floating' roof to keep the house protected from the rain and the sun.

The Centre Le Corbusier can be considered a Gesamtkunstwerk, i.e. a total work of art, and reflects the harmonic unity of Le Corbusier's architecture, sculptures, paintings, furniture designs and his writings, which is unique and possibly the only one such existing structure in the world.

User Reviews

Uziel González (2 years ago)
The museum still close

Zeglar (2 years ago)
An interesting interpretation of Corbusier's architecture and themes. Colourful foil to the neighbouring buildings, beautifully loacted in a park setting.

Adriana Perez (2 years ago)
I couldn't get in because it's closed for renovations and even when it is open, the hours are very odd. I was able to see the architecture from the outside and it was interesting to see the colors and the integration of modern styles typical of Le Corbusier. It is a great tribute to a famous Swiss architect that played such a major role in the history of architecture. I would have liked to see the inside.

Jan Willem Kooijmans (2 years ago)
Very interesting to see how this lovely restaurant integrated a Le Corbusier design into the architecture. Placed along the Zürichsee boulevard makes a beautiful location. Parking is not far away, or even better take a bicycle! On the inside and on the outside you can taste the Corbusier design. The house, the furniture and other elements gives you a very insight about the legacy of Le Corburier. And on top of that, the cakes are fabulous! Absolutely worth a visit on a lazy and sunny afternoon.

patriciatruzzi (3 years ago)
It's closed until April 2019 for renovations. It would be very nice to inform or on the website.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Honza Soukup

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Angelokastro

Angelokastro is a Byzantine castle on the island of Corfu. It is located at the top of the highest peak of the island"s shoreline in the northwest coast near Palaiokastritsa and built on particularly precipitous and rocky terrain. It stands 305 m on a steep cliff above the sea and surveys the City of Corfu and the mountains of mainland Greece to the southeast and a wide area of Corfu toward the northeast and northwest.

Angelokastro is one of the most important fortified complexes of Corfu. It was an acropolis which surveyed the region all the way to the southern Adriatic and presented a formidable strategic vantage point to the occupant of the castle.

Angelokastro formed a defensive triangle with the castles of Gardiki and Kassiopi, which covered Corfu"s defences to the south, northwest and northeast.

The castle never fell, despite frequent sieges and attempts at conquering it through the centuries, and played a decisive role in defending the island against pirate incursions and during three sieges of Corfu by the Ottomans, significantly contributing to their defeat.

During invasions it helped shelter the local peasant population. The villagers also fought against the invaders playing an active role in the defence of the castle.

The exact period of the building of the castle is not known, but it has often been attributed to the reigns of Michael I Komnenos and his son Michael II Komnenos. The first documentary evidence for the fortress dates to 1272, when Giordano di San Felice took possession of it for Charles of Anjou, who had seized Corfu from Manfred, King of Sicily in 1267.

From 1387 to the end of the 16th century, Angelokastro was the official capital of Corfu and the seat of the Provveditore Generale del Levante, governor of the Ionian islands and commander of the Venetian fleet, which was stationed in Corfu.

The governor of the castle (the castellan) was normally appointed by the City council of Corfu and was chosen amongst the noblemen of the island.

Angelokastro is considered one of the most imposing architectural remains in the Ionian Islands.

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