Barber and Osgerby revisit Ronchamp
We love these shots of Le Corb's Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp, taken by the British design duo
Most creative figures in the design and architectural community would acknowledge they are standing on the shoulders of giants. As a young man, Le Corbusier sketched the Parthenon; Frank Lloyd Wright looked up to his mentor, the US architect Louis Sullivan; and John Pawson has paid tribute to the master of less-is-more, Mies Van der Rohe on a number of occasions.
Now, on a recent trip to France, the British designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby - best known for their simple, effective designs such as the Tip Ton chair and the 2012 Olympic Torch - have taken time to admire one of Le Corbusier's great works, the Chapelle Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp.
As William JR Curtis puts it in our Le Corbusier book, this masterpiece of ecclesiastical building bears comparison with the finest works of any age. Completed in 1954 and consecrated in 1955, this Catholic chapel in eastern France was built on a pilgrimage site too remote for heavy machinery, which may have led Le Corbusier to take a more lyrical approach.
Certainly, its sweeping forms and peerless manipulation of light are captured well in Barber and Osgerby's images, posted on Instagram. One image takes in the view up the central tower, while another the shell-like concrete roof. "Inspirational" as they put it in their post.
For more from Jay and Edward, order a copy of our Barber Osgerby Projects here; for more on Le Corbusier get this book.