ABSTRACT
One of the most influential architects of the twentieth century, Le Corbusier (Charles Edouard Jeanneret 1887-1965) declared in Vers une Architecture (Towards a New Architecture, 1923) that houses were ‘machines for living in’. This was to become a mantra for generations of designers. The principle of insisting on buildings that perfectly fitted their perceived functions, without redundant space or features, underlies most of the architecture of the century, and its imperative of achieving a tailor-made fit was pursued as a virtually moral quest.
