Artist Profile
Pierre Jeanneret
- Lived:
- 1896-1967
- Worked:
- Switzerland, Chandigarh, India, New York, NY, Paris, FR
- Style:
- Architecture, Mid-Modern Furniture Design
"Architecture is one of the finest of all professions because it incorporates almost all of mankind's interests and concerns, at the same time giving the architect an opportunity to exercise his creative talent." Pierre Jeanneret
Much of Pierre Jeanneret's career can be defined by his personal and professional relationship with Le Corbusier (Charles Edouard Jeanneret), his outspoken and highly regarded cousin. For over 20 years, the two balanced each other's personalities and strengths to produce exceptional work in several important architectural endeavers. In his introduction to his first edition of the complete works, Le Corbusier wrote:
"I teamed up with my cousin Pierre Jeanneret in 1922. We gaily set out to work with loyalty, optimism, initiative and perserverance. Two men who understand each other are stronger than five who are alone."
Between 1922 and 1940, Corbusier and Jeanneret became a formalized partnership that produced several respected projects from Geneva, to Paris, to Stuttgart, to Moscow, to Rio de Janeiro. A true international presence in the architectural community. Jeanneret extended his work to the develop of prefabricated elements and worked with several reknown designers including Jean Prouve and Charlotte Perriand.
In 1951, both Jeanneret and Corbusier were invited to produce a cost-effective "modern city" in Chandigarh, India. In this capacity, Jeanneret helped to design the buildings and furniture for buildings from their nursery schools to universities, hotels, homes for their ministers, the capitol. High Court of Justice, the Legislative Assembly and the Secretariat building. To complement the buildings, Jeanneret also designed much of the furniture which is functional and made of native materials by local craftsmen. His designs even extended to lampposts and manhole covers around the city.
A renewed international interest in the work of Le Corbusier and his senior architects Pierre Jeanneret and husband and wife team Maxwell Fry and Jane B. Drew, has led Chandigarh city officials to recently apply for UNESCO World Heritage status.