Modernist Home Style with the Le Corbusier Sofa LC3
Of all the fundamental designs that have came out of mankind’s imagination, perhaps none would be as influential as that of modernism. Organized in the early 20th century, the contemporary style in architecture is popular for its uncomplicated, minimalist appearance and the dismissal of non-essential accessories. But while most people commemorate modernism as an basic style, it has also extended into furniture. In fact, the developers of the modernist style of architecture drafted furniture as well. One elegant example of such a modernist furnishing is the Le Corbusier Sofa LC3.
Created in 1928, the Le Corbusier Sofa LC3 is a modernist reaction to the conventional club chair. It was crafted by the famous Swiss-French furniture designer Le Corbusier, who was also well-known for his architectural works generated in the modernist style. Le Corbusier assumed in the concept that furniture is an expansion of the human body, and that it must permit for unimpeded movement and ergonomic freedom for its user.
The Le Corbusier Sofa LC3 is indeed part of a collection of furniture manufactured by Le Corbusier, which comprises theLC1 Sling Chair, the LC2 Sofa, and the LC4 Chaise Lounge. According to its closest counterpart, the LC2, the LC3 emphasized cushions that were guarded in place but not restricted to the frame. The reason behind this was to generate the feeling of comfort from the upholstered surface while favoring with the modernist mantra of excellent minimalism and unordinary industrial look. The LC3 also shares some attributes of the sling chair, containing the reverse invention of the structures of the sofa by having the frameworks outside instead of the inside. This extrinsic frame also has the plus benefit of harboring thick pillows, which can fill the abundant space inside the frame and support an irregular sumptuousness that is uncommon even for other massive sofas and chairs. Nevertheless, despite its affinities the Le Corbusier LC3 also had its unique characteristics, including more generous stuff and the prerogative of either down-wrapped foam or Dacron-wrapped cushions.
Despite the LC3 and the rest of its brethren were fully credited to Le Corbusier, its fame as a home furnishing was heavily persuaded by that of Heidi Weber, a German museum owner and colleague of Le Corbusier. In 1959, Mrs. Weber, under the knowledge of Le Corbusier, put the Le Corbusier Sofa LC3 and the rest of the selection into production. And it is in the middle of the production process that Weber abandoned the spring mechanism of the sofas and layered the outer frame with a chrome layer. The cushions were also fixed to make it more formal and fitted, an appearance which still abides to this day.