Le Corbusier's Plan Voisin and Ivan Chtcheglov's Drift: Two Visions of Paris
In 1925, Le Corbusier introduced Plan Voisin for the heart of Paris, which aimed to replace significant historical areas, including the Marais, with eighteen cruciform towers for offices, residential units, green spaces, and a structured road system, all while safeguarding landmarks like the Louvre. Although it was never realized, this plan significantly impacted modernist urban design, inspiring Ville Radieuse and the Athens Charter. In 1953, Ivan Chtcheglov, writing as Gilles Ivain, critiqued Le Corbusier's vision as fitting only for 'factories and hospitals,' proposing instead a city characterized by mutable atmospheres: Bizarre, Happy, Noble and Tragic, and Sinister. He advocated for the concept of continuous drifting—the dérive—opposing the orderly nature of Plan Voisin. This article is featured in designboom's SPECTATOR AND SPECTACLE chapter, in collaboration with SolidNature.
Key facts
- Le Corbusier's Plan Voisin was proposed in 1925 for central Paris.
- The plan would have replaced much of the Marais with eighteen cruciform office towers and separate residential blocks.
- It preserved monuments including the Louvre, Palais-Royal, and Place Vendôme.
- Plan Voisin was never built but influenced modernist planning via the Ville Radieuse and the Athens Charter.
- Ivan Chtcheglov wrote Formulary for a New Urbanism in 1953 under the pseudonym Gilles Ivain.
- Chtcheglov criticized Le Corbusier's architecture as suitable for 'factories and hospitals' and accused it of destroying 'joy' and 'love, passion, freedom.'
- Chtcheglov proposed a city divided into Bizarre, Happy, Noble and Tragic, and Sinister Quarters.
- The Situationists described wandering through the city as the dérive, with continuous drifting as the main activity.
Entities
Artists
- Le Corbusier
- Ivan Chtcheglov
- Gilles Ivain
- Asger Jorn
- Guy Debord
- Constant Nieuwenhuys
Institutions
- designboom
- SolidNature
- Situationists
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Marais
- Louvre
- Palais-Royal
- Place Vendôme