Encyclopedia > Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts
The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts is the only building actually built by Le Corbusier in the United States, one of only two in the Americas. (The other is the Curutchet House in La Plata, Argentina.) Built in 1962, Le Corbusier had designed it at his atelier in Paris, along with Chilean architect Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente. The on-site preparation of the construction plans was handled by the office of José Luis Sert, the dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He had formerly been a student of Le Corbusier and had been instrumental in winning him the commission.
The building was made possible by a $1,500,000 donation by the Carpenters, who never met the architect; in the end they had to increase their donation to meet increased building costs.
It houses the department of Visual and Environmental Studies of the University, as well as the Harvard Film Archive, the largest collection of 35mm films in New England. It screens a large quantity of independent, international and silent films.
Le Corbusier never saw the building. He was invited to the opening ceremony, but he declined the invitation on account of his poor health.
The building has been humorously described by some people skeptical of its charms as "two pianos mating."
The Center for Visual Culture provides a forum for a wide range of curricular and extra-curricular events such as lectures, conferences, film series, exhibitions, and trips.
The Center underwrites travel expenses associated with undergraduate and graduate research, and also supports postdoctoral scholars engaged in projects extending in scope from ancient Constantinople to the Hollywood of today.
The Center also anticipates ambitious joint initiatives with the Center for Communities, Ethnicities, and Social Policy, the Center for International Studies, and the Center for Science in Society.
Likewise, the path along the CarpenterCenter’s ramp is not animated by the fl and white checkerboard terrazzo floors Le Corbusier initially intended for the second and third floor studios visible through the large glass windows of this interior space.
The occasion of the CarpenterCenter’s 40th anniversary, which is being celebrated during the 2003-2004 school year through the end of 2004, has given pause to the nature of a landmark building on a constantly evolving campus.
He is the co-curator of “VAC BOS: The CarpenterCenter and Le Corbusier’s Synthesis of the Arts,” an exhibition held Spring 2004 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the CarpenterCenter for the VisualArts.
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