In May 1954 Le Corbusier was awarded the contract for the Brazilian hall of residence of the Cité universitaire in Paris. He began work on the furniture for the hall in February 1956 by adapting the proposals of his assistant, Jacques Michel, along the lines of his own model furnishings for the Unité d’habitation in Nantes-Rezé of 1955. When he returned to work on it again two years later, he enlisted the support of his former studio partner, Charlotte Perriand. It was her input that gave rise to the definitive designs, including that of the cabinet unit shown here, which, like other Corbusian cellules, was to double as a partition between the sanitary unit and workspace/bedroom. The side facing the sanitary unit was fitted with drawers, open compartments, and a lockable wardrobe. Alongside the intelligent layout the coloured drawers are especially noteworthy. Perriand had designed them in 1952 and they were manufactured by Sem. Their bright colours made for a pleasing contrast with both the grey plastic sliding doors and oak-veneered carcass and the polychrome walls of the room itself.
Text: Arthur Rüegg
