charlotte perriand: the modern life

from the onset of her career, charlotte perriand was a maverick who believed in good design as a force for the betterment of society. many young designers would have been discouraged by a rejection from le corbusier’s studio, but when the renowned architect told her there was no place for a female furniture designer, perriand became even more determined to prove her abilities as an artist. under le corbusier, and long after leaving his studio, perriand’s contributions to furniture design and architecture demonstrated a unique sensitivity to the organic beauty of nature as well as the egalitarian possibilities of the machine age. her left-wing populist politics influenced much of her work, from modular furniture systems to major architectural projects.

this monograph explores perriand’s most celebrated interiors, original furniture designs, and architectural projects, as well as previously unpublished sketchbooks that offer new insight into her creative process and her lasting place in design history.

charlotte perriand (1903–99) experienced her first major breakthrough with le bar sous le toit, a 1927 interior design project that anticipated the elegant minimalism and utilitarian qualities that would define her later work. although she is perhaps best known today for her early chaise longue designs, perriand also developed plans for major buildings across europe and contributed interior designs to le corbusier’s unité d’habitation. she worked in locations as diverse as tokyo, rio de janeiro, and london in pursuit of creating accessible, human-centered design.