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Jou nal o A chi ec u e and U banism
ISSN 2029-7955 / eISSN 2029-7947
2018 Volume 42 Issue 1: 70–79
h ps://doi.o g/10.3846/20297955.2016.1246983
THE PLANETARY GARDEN. WHERE NATURAL AND
HUMAN INTERTWINE
Ramón PICO*
Uni e si y o Se ille, Hiso ia, Teo ķa y Composición A qui ec ónicas,
C/ Luce o, 2, Se ille, 41003 Spain
Recei ed 13 No embe 2015; accep ed 4 Oc obe 2016
Abs ac . Sp ing 1935. A e wen y- i e yea s o ascina ion o heigh s and six o lying, s imula ing expe iences, Le Co busie
published Ai c a , a eal “Mani es o o a New E a”, acco ding o his own wo ds. E en hough Ve s une a chi ec u e had limi ed he
ae onaou ic model alidi y o he amewo k o housing and eas he ics en yea s be o e, he e e ence hen was expanded o he
ci y and i s i ing wi hin he na u al amewo k, o he de ini ion o a new global habi a in which public space became he ocus.
The lying expe ience allowed him o look in o he pas and ind he sub le balance o man and na u e. Re ela ion and ebel-
lion a he same ime. Thanks o he new isual as well as men al pe spec i e p o ided by heigh , he would d i e his e lec-
ions owa ds “geoa chi ec u e”, a de ini i e, Humbold ian app oach o Ea h.
His ae ial obse a ion o he Alge ian M’Zab alley o he layou o he se lemen s along he Pa aná c ys allised bo h in o
ex s such as Su les qua o ou es, Ai c a o Les ois é ablissemen s humains, and a se ies o p oposals o Rio, São Paulo,
Mon e ideo, Buenos Ai es and Algie s. Epic ad en u es h ough which, and connec ing wi h he in e es o hose geog-
aphe s wo ied abou eclaiming human ac ion on he w i ing on he Ea h h ough his “es ablishmen s”, Le Co busie
ackled he con igu a ion o a new public space beyond he limi s o he adi ional ci y, claiming o a new plane a y o de .
Keywo ds: con empo a y a chi ec u e, geoa chi ec u e, Le Co busie , public space, he i age, his o ical landscape.
In oduc ion
This con ibu ion add esses he ele ance o he lying ex-
pe ience in Le Co busie , whom ackled he con igu a ion
o a new public space beyond he limi s o he adi ional
ci y, claiming o a new plane a y o de , and connec -
ing wi h he in e es o hose geog aphe s wo ied abou
eclaiming human ac ion on he w i ing on he Ea h
h ough his “es ablishmen s”. The esea ch has been sup-
po ed on he e iew o he ecen li e a u e on ci y, land-
scape and ae onau ics, mainly he con ibu ions o Boye ,
Duempelmann, Mo shed o Waldheim, and he s udy o
Le Co busie ’s o iginal ex s.
In no hea is he e oom o ano he
Those we e he i s wo ds ha Ma ine i was able o p o-
nounce a e his i s lying expe ience (Ma ine i 1968:
136). Ha dly had a decade elapsed since he W igh b o h-
e s achie ed o ake ligh when he c eed o he ae onau ic
good news i mly sp ead ou o e he Eu opean capi als,
a ac ing all ypes o cu ious people, among whom he
names o es less pe sonali ies such as Ka ka, Melniko ,
Le Co busie o Ma ine i could be ound.
The new lying de ices ha challenged he law o g a -
i y we e ul aligh , limsy machines o unusual shapes
and amazingly magical. Thei capaci y o p o ide s imu-
lus could sp ead in di e en di ec ions: he a ac ion o
hei new geome ies, he mo bid in oxica ion o ben-
zene odou s, he oa ing engines, he p opelle s as
mo emen and, o cou se, he exci ing expe ience p o-
ided by heigh . Ma ine i’s wo ds a e deeply exp essi e
when he ecalled his ae ial bap ism in his ex s and how
“his ches opened up like a g ea hole in o which he en i e
ho izon o he sky lowed deliciously, smoo h, esh, o -
en ial”. Ma ine i el “ he e ocious and lushing massage
o he c azy wind…” how, on descending… “you’ e i-
umphed o e he ap o he oad. You’ e iumphed o e
he law which o ces man o c awl” (De Ma ia 1968: 35).
Emo ions, ad enaline shakes, ca ego ically desc ibed by
Jou nal o A chi ec u e and U banism, 2018, 42(1): 70–79 71
Ka ka when, a e descending om an ai c a in B escia,
he w o e: “in no hea is he e oom o ano he ” (Ka ka
1909: 47).
They we e isola ed expe imen s which ound hei
way in he cul i a ed plo s o he pe i-u ban a eas o
p og essi ely conque he hea o he ci ies. Le Co -
busie was al eady p esen in hese i s app oaches and
he desc ibed, especially mo ed, he encoun e ha ook
place on he ou ski s o Pa is in May 1909 (Le Co bus-
ie 1935). A e ha day, Le Co busie had mul iple ap-
p oaches o he ascina ing wo ld o ae onau ics, always
on he g ound, un il he oppo uni y o expe imen he
o e whelming, s imula ing expe ience o lying inally
appea ed in 1929. F om ha momen on, his no ebooks
e lec ed lo s o ligh s o e M’Zab, Asunción, Tempel-
ho o Rio de Janei o; d awings which buil up a com-
ple e a las o expe iences, e lec ions and li e lessons
om abo e (Fig.1).
The e ela ions p o ided by he su ace o he Ea h
quickly gene a ed a double e ec on he es less a chi ec :
on he one hand, ega ding he consolida ed ci y, his new
pe spec i e allowed Le Co busie o ein o ce he app e-
cia ion o he leading ole o open spaces; on he o he
hand, and wi h espec o he e i o y beyond he ci ies,
i b ough o ligh he sub le balance na u al-a i icial and
i emphasised he po en ial o open spaces as he backbone
o an u ban model des ined o sp ead wildly all o e he
plane (Fig.2) (B enne , Schmid 2015).
F om Sou h Ame ica o Algie s, lying
expe iences.
These e ela ions eme ged abo e all a e he ligh s o e
Sou h Ame ica in 1929 (Boye 2003; Gu ié ez 2009; Col-
lins 1995) and o e Algie s in 1933. The o me pa icu-
la ly con ibu ed o acknowledging he cohesi e unc ion
o na u al spaces, domes ica ed by man and ans o med
in o ga dens beyond he adi ional ci y, whe eas in he
la e Le Co busie clea ly in e p e ed he o ganisa ional
ole o open spaces, bo h public and p i a e, in he inne
con igu a ion o he his o ical se lemen s o M’Zab.
In Oc obe 1828 Le Co busie had al eady ecei ed his
ae ial bap ism on a Pa is-Be lin-Moscow jou ney, bu his
ligh expe ience could well ha e been an e en o o ge .
In Oc obe in Cen al Eu ope, lying condi ions u ned
eally un a ou able: educed isibili y, mo emen s, shakes,
we e pa o he usual expe iences on he jou neys a ha
ime. On he con a y, he expe ience mus ha e been e y
di e en in he Ame ican sp ing. He lew on a b and-new
La écoé e 28, ecen ly b ough o he inaugu a ion o he
new line, enjoying he bes condi ions o ly.
Besides, he ci cums ances su ounding he ligh we e
also a ac i e as he go in con ac wi h a peculia pilo o
he company: An oine Sain -Exupé y (1900–1944). Bo h
we e explo e s, ad en u e s who exchanged hei pe cep-
ions abou he o ce exe ed by he Sou h-Ame ican na u-
al landscapes, he emo ion o human li e on he g ound
o he new ways opened by ae ial iew. These exchanges
could ha e been in luen ial on he eleg aphic w i ing
p esen in Le Co busie ’s ske ches (Ped e i 1987, Gu ié -
ez 2009). I was also he beginning o hei iendship and
mu ual admi a ion which con inued wo yea s la e when
hey me again explo ing he Alge ian dese , and eached
i s highes poin wi h he inclusion o Sain -Exupé y in o
Le Co busie ’s pe sonal a ia ion Olympus in Su les qua-
e ou es: “Sain -Exupé y is also a dese ing companion o
hose calm he oes”. (Le Co busie 1941: 11)
On No embe 1s , Le Co busie go onboa d he
La e 28 in Buenos Ai es, (Gu ié ez; González 2009)
no ebook in hand and s imula ing Sain -Exupé y si ing
nex o him. Wha he disco e ed was a ascina ing land-
scape: he plain go ans o med. The way o Asunción
was a e i o y uled by he meande s o he Pa aná, a
place whe e wa e and land onali ies appea ed oge he
wi h shapes modelled by bo h na u e and human ac-
ion: geog aphies.
The ligh was slow and he scene y in i ed e lec ion:
a s oll in he sky. I e ol ed almos like a ilm sequence,
un eiling a new ype o explo e (Colomina 1994; Duem-
pelmann 2014; Mo shed 2015; Waldheim, Duempel-
mann 2016). Le Cobu sie , mo ed, wi nessed he spec-
acle o na u e: he cou se o he i e s, he a angemen
Fig.1. Le Co busie , Ai c a , (1935).
Figu e 116: “Ano he is ou des iny”
Fig.2. Le Co busie , Ai c a , (1935). Figu e 56: “A Re olu ion
in he sui able momen . The u h expels ugliness. A new E a”
72 R. Pico. The plane a y ga den. Whe e na u al and human in e wine
o human es ablishmen s, he sense o hei bonds,…
he landscape buil by human ac ion. I was hen ha he
ecognized all ha man missed due o his limi a ions as
a e es ial animal: “when (…) one has en e ed he in i-
macy o he ci y, when one has o n away in a single glance
o he gliding bi d all he sec e s ha i hid so easily om
he poo e es ial on his wo ee , one has seen e e y-
hing, unde s ood e e y hing” (Le Co busie 1930: 259).
The Ame ican sky wen h ough absolu e ans o ma-
ion. Le Co busie spen he wen y- wo days on his way
back o Eu ope on he Lusi ania almos li e ally locked
up in his cabin, s ill exci ed a e nea ly h ee mon hs o
con inuous disco e ies. The goal: o p oduce a ex wi h
which he would y o place himsel as he “mas e ” o
ma u e p oposals, e y di e en om ha o “ adical in-
no a o ” ha he had embodied en yea s be o e (Cohen
1993; Boye 2003: 96).
Le Co busie ew o e in P ecisions he alks p esen ed
du ing his Sou h-Ame ican ou (Rojo de Cas o 2008),
bu in his ede ini ion o he ex i will no be jus he
alues and ci cums ances o he disco e ed e i o y ha
allow blu ing he ideas o ehemen Le Co busie . In his
case, he physical medium was no innocuous bu de ini ely
decisi e o unde and such exci emen . Le Co busie , who
had d eam o lying s olls since he was eigh een, a las e-
cei ed a nice ae ial bap ism. He ul illed one o his g ea es
d eams and wi nessed, in especially a ou able condi ions,
a isual spec acle in which he powe o Ame ican na u e
e ealed in all i s ullness. The human being’s ela ionships,
con lic s, helplessness, conques s and achie emen s o e
he na u al medium we e exposed all o a sudden.
The Law o he Meande was added la e in o he ex
o he six h alk, ha has been held six days be o e o his
ligh o e he Pa ana i e . I was he pe ec me apho
o he end o he mechanical y anny and he opening o
a new ly ical poe y, he magical encoun e o man wi h
na u e. On coming ac oss insu moun able obs acles, na-
u e ac ed in an in elligen way, o cing he s aigh low
o dis o .
An emo ional, pe cep i e shake such as he con empla-
ion o he powe ul Ame ican geog aphy om he uppe
iew o he sky u ned he e o e de ini i e in he ci y plan-
ne ’s subsequen ca ee . F om hen on, his ideas o he
ci y’s new models gushed ou om a deeply phenomeno-
logical posi ion: “The non-p o essional ae onau (wi h he
mind gone blank) emains hough ul: he only inds shel e
in himsel and his wo ks. Bu once he has come down o he
Ea h, his goals and de e mina ions acqui e a new scope”
(Le Co busie 1935: 22).
Fou yea s la e , a new lying expe ience caugh his
a en ion o he ole o ee spaces inside he ci ies, he
obse a ion ield being in his case he Alge ian Chebka
o he M’Zab, a pen apolis made o i e ksa w apped
in a winding ege al ibbon. This had been one o he
issues ha d ew he a en ion o he g ea es nine een h
cen u y F ench geog aphe s, in e es ed in o e com-
ing he me ely physical unde s anding o geog aphy.
Among hem, Jean B unhes (1869–1930), who included
in his Human Geog aphy a numbe o e e ences o his
e i o y, o which he assigned he concep o human
island (B unhes 1910).
Nine cen u ies be o e, his inhospi able e i o y had
been he Mozabi es’ des ina ion a e lea ing Sed a a o
ake up exile wo hund ed kilome es o he eas , o die
in he dese . The e hey chose a ne wo k o d y i e s,
domes ica ed i by digging wells in he ock, plan ing da e
palm ees, w apping i e nea by owns in a big ga den:
Gha daïa, Beni Isguen, Melika, Bouno a and El A eu .
All in all, he ideal se ing o make B uhnes and he like
de end he ans o ming ac ion ca ied ou by man o e
he medium.
Wi hou a doub , hese geog aphy manuals o he ime
we e a a el guidebook o Le Co busie , who was always
in e es ed in eading abou e i o y and an h opology. In
ac , du ing his i s pe iod in Pa is, be ween 1908 and
1909, he al eady a ended he So bonne class ooms whe e
Vidal de la Blache (1845–1918) o B uhnes himsel lec-
u ed abou Human Geog aphy.
His in e es o geog aphy and he e olu ion o human
communi ies also b ough him close o o he pe sonali ies
a ac ed by app oaching human ac ion o e he physical
medium, namely his o ian Gas on Roupnel (1871–1946),
geog aphe Ma cel Me cie (1876–1954), whose ex “La
ci ilisa ion u baine a M’zab” he would anno a e in de ail,
o an hopologis , e hnologis and a ia o Ma cel G iaullé
(1898–1956), a pionee in he use o ae ial pho og aphy in
he hi ies, ci ed by Le Co busie in L’u banisme des ois
é ablissemen s humains: “Limi is a ma e o gods and no
a ma e o men”.
His i s con ac wi h his land ook place in sp ing
1931, a b ie expe ience ha led him o mee wi h An-
oine Sain -Exupé y again in Bou-Saada (Bunkse 1990).
Bo h o hem wen deep in o he dese and hey we e
cha med by he inc edible shapes o a landscape o sand
dunes whe e abs ac ion and he ones o he elie we e
magically c owned by he as onishing human cons uc-
ions (Ge be 1992).
Tha e y summe , he decided o go back on holiday,
in wha F ancesco Ten o i has called he “second ip o
he Eas ”. A e d i ing h ough Spain and Mo occo in his
Voisin 14 HP, he inally ad en u ed 650 kilome es in o
he sou h o Algie s in sea ch o M’Zab alley. In his i s
encoun e wi h M’Zab, on he g ound, he disco e ed,
pleasan ly su p ised, he och e landscape wi h whi e and
blue cubes in he sun, he amazing a chi ec u e o Gha da-
ïa mosque o he ole o mina e s in he u ban landscape.
He con empla ed he Oasis o he summe owns and,
mo ed, ansmi ed he expe ience. (Le Co busie 1931:
92) I s alue, like he Ame ican meande , lay in an en-
coun e o e o s which a oided meachnical linea i y, in
he huge collabo a i e wo k in which na u e, i s manage-
men by man and ime had done e e y hing.
Jou nal o A chi ec u e and U banism, 2018, 42(1): 70–79 73
Ne e heless, opposed o he p i ilege o he oasis, he
ksa , he win e ci y appea ed as a d ama ic place. The isi ,
ca ied ou in he wo s pe iod o walk a ound i s s ee s, le
a bi e swee as e in Le Co busie : “…i looked like eal hell.
The e we e only na ow, sloping s ee s, ca i y walls, impossi-
bili y” (Le Co busie 1935: 12).
Wo ied abou i , Le Co busie decided o go back o
examine he ci y om abo e and epea he g a i ying Ame-
ican expe ience in his land, ying o de ini i ely ind ou
wha happened behind hose opaque walls and unde s and
how a solid ci y wi h ha dly any public spaces could unc-
ion. A e hea ing abou he Aé oclub d’Alge ie, he se ou
o go on a second ip o M’Zab in Ma ch 1933, wi h he
ideal condi ions o look om abo e.
The pilo Louis Du a ou (1888–1967) and he a chi-
ec se o a midday on Sa u day 17 h Ma ch om Al-
gie s ai po – Casa Blancheme . The condi ions o he i-
sual ligh o ced hem o spend he nigh in Laghoua and
hen lea e o Gha daïa ea ly on Sunday. The expe ience
o a ligh a sun ise was sublime: clean ai , dim ligh ,
long shadows, sho jou neys… condi ions ha allowed
Le Co busie o comple e a no ebook ull o d awings so
aluable ha some o hem we e in he demanding selec-
ion o Ai c a wo yea s la e .
F om he ai Le Co busie clea ly pe cei ed how he
ege al se pen made by he palm ees emb aced com-
pac single bodies inside such as Be iane, Gue a a o
Beni Isguen, cha ac e ised by “The absolu e uni y o all he
houses”. Gha daïa ksa was wi hou a doub he mos si-
gni ican , when he pilo app oached i and spi aled o e
he mina e e as no ed down in a b ie ske ch: “Du a ou ,
pilo ing his small ai c a , poin ed a wo spo s in he ho i-
zon, ‘Look! The e a e he ci ies!’ Then, like a hawk, he wen
down o e one o hem se e al imes. This is how I could
disco e he p inciple ha go e ns he ci ies o he M’Zab
alley. The ai c a had e ealed i all, and wha we saw was
a g ea lesson o us” (Le Co busie 1935: 12).
The expe ience can clea ly be summa ised h ough ana-
lysing he accoun s o e en s p o ided by Le Co busie in
Ai c a . In his epo he emembe ed his i s encoun e
wi h M’Zab as one ull o con usion and disappoin men ,
a e examining i om he g ound in 1931. Howe e , he
emo ionally desc ibed he e ela ion b ough abou by his
expe ience du ing he ligh in 1933 and how he ac ual-
ly had only unde s ood he Mozabi e human islands om
abo e as, hanks o he ai c a , he disco e ed he mi acle o
he M’Zab ci ies’ inne li e hidden away om he isi o by
he opaque s ee walls: “Behind he blind s ee walls hap-
py houses opened. Each one o hem o a deligh ul ga den
h ough h ee wide a ches (…) E e y house in M’Zab, wi -
hou excep ion, is a place o calm li e happiness” (Le Co bus-
ie 1935: 12).
Thanks o he ligh ’s sublime expe ience, Le Co busie
ecognised he possibili ies o ansi ion spaces in he A ab
ci y, o inne ga dens which es ablished he pe ec g adien
be ween public and p i a e space. Hidden behind he im-
pe ious ga den walls o hose “clay canals” ha made up
he ksa s ee s, hey se he i s app oach le el o he home
p i acy, a necessa y il e , o go en a imes, in he p opo-
sals o he new ci y.
P oposals om he ai
Th oughou he exci ing s age o human habi a disco -
e y om he ai be ween 1928 and 1935, Le Co busie
would always ge on he ai c a no ebook in hand: “On
he ai c a I ook my ske chbook and was d awing as I saw
e e y hing clea ” (Le Co busie 1930: 260).
I is ob ious ha he change in pe spec i e supplied
by heigh allowed him o make la ge scale p oposals, wi h
an immedia e, imp essi e app oach o he place, heady
a imes (Mon eys 2004). Du ing he ligh Le Co busie
wo ked on a huge li ing model and i was almos ine i-
able ha ideas gushed ou because, as he ema ked, “when
one has become he gliding bi d lying a leng h o e he ci y,
ideas s ike you” (Le Co busie 1930: 259).
I was impossible o he own planne o g asp enough
knowledge o he speci ic p oblems o each place a a small
scale, like s ee o dis ic , in such a sho ime, bu he
zoom p o ided by he ai c a allowed him o app oach
he p oblem in i s wides e ms, e icien ly leading he p o-
posals owa ds he e i o ial dimension be ween 1929 and
1931: Seasc ape o Mon e ideo, G oundsc ape o São
Paulo, inhabi ed a eas which in e ac ed wi h he scene y
in Rio o Algie s (F amp om 1980; Tsiomis 1998).
In opposi ion o he new colonial me opolis, i was
o pa amoun impo ance o Le Co busie o unde s and
he human habi a , he a mosphe e, he con ex , and he
in e ac ion wi h he na u al elemen s, meande s, woods,
dunes, ma shlands o cli s, which eached an ex ao di-
na y dimension in hese lands.
Unde hese ci cums ances, be ween 1929 and 1935, Le
Co busie unde ook he making o his well-known p o-
posals o Buenos Ai es, Rio de Janei o (Fig.3), São Paulo
and Algie s. These p oposals could no be unde s ood om
he simple bina y educ ion be ween he g ound-b eaking,
a an -ga de a chi ec and ha ocusing on his o ical e -
nacula adi ions; o be ween he Pla onic idealis and ha
en iced by he e icien p agma ism o echnology and en-
ginee ing. The ac ion ca ied ou in Rio de Janei o is likely
o be he one ha bes allows us o unde s and he scope
o hose p oposals ha end o be comp ehensi e o a wide
e i o ial and social eali y, o a complex habi a .
Fa beyond he con en ional p inciples poin ed ou
by some au ho s, e e ing o mains eam u ban ma e s,
such as a ic educ ion in he ci y cen e, he ise o he
popula ion densi y o he ex ension o means o anspo ,
he p oposal showed o con i med in e es s such as he
inc ease o public g een a eas o he appea ance o he
megalomaniac building- iaduc ha syn hesized he op-
e a ion.
The possibili y o es uc u ing he exis ing ci y by
means o a colossal a ea o in as uc u es, he building-
iaduc , gained geog aphic dimension only unde s andable
74 R. Pico. The plane a y ga den. Whe e na u al and human in e wine
om abo e, and i also added new alues o he medium.
The i s aim was o en ich he human habi a by adding
dialec ic laye s o ha medium, h ough an u ban p ojec
ha did no in e e e wi h he exis ing ci y, o e lapping
pas and p esen as s a a o he same his o y. An inhabi -
ed six-kilomen e-long, one-hund ed-me e-high iaduc
was he chosen o mula (Fig.4).
The iaduc shape posed us a second bu no less el-
e an ques ion: he p oposal in ended o ela e he geo-
g aphic e e ences o he place as well as he mos impo an
u ban landma ks wi h a na u al e i o y which amassed
bo h he indigenous wo ld’s elics and some ex ao dina y
na u al alues, necessa y ing edien s o he e i o y-ci y’s
new public space (Sequei a 2012).
Geoa chi ec u e
These p oposals o gene a e new complex habi a s, o-
ge he wi h e lec ions exp essed by Le Co busie in ex s
like Ai c a o Su les qua e ou es we e included in an
in ense geog aphic deba e which, since he all o he Old
O de , had been made pa en abou he landscape. This
was iewed a he beginning in me ely na u alis e ms, a
eal and symbolic exp ession o he peoples and na ions,
o men and hei associa ions.
Landscapes we e connec ed wi h he li es yles o he
people who in e ac ed in hose landscapes, bu also wi h
hei ways o hinking and eeling, wi h hei inne ho-
izons. The e we e, acco ding o Humbold , “mys e ious
analogies and mo al ha monies ha uni e man wi h he
ex e nal wo ld” (Humbold 1845: 4).
In he ea ly wen ie h cen u y, he eme gence o he
ai c a p o ed decisi e o he de elopmen o his de-
ba e, opening a sequence o e en s which would esul
in he con en ion o unde s and he landscape as human
cons uc a he end o he wen ie h cen u y (Made uelo
2008).
The ai c a was he ool ha allowed se ing a dis an
iewpoin , om which he human wo k disappea ed o
was pe cei ed in geome ic abs ac ion. F om he ai c a ,
he iew became Humbold ian, na u al and human in e -
wined and “de ail eco ds which cha ac e ise he T ip o he
Eas a e eplaced by geog aphic no es abou i e s, es ua ies,
Fig.3. Le Co busie , Ai c a , (1935). Figu es 111 y 112: “ wo ske ches made du ing a ligh in 1929,
a he ime ha he idea o a as p og am o o ganic u banism came o me as a e ela ion”
Fig.4. Le Co busie . Rio de Janei o ae ial iew 1929,
© FLC ADAGP 32091

Jou nal o A chi ec u e and U banism, 2018, 42(1): 70–79 75
clouds and sun ises” (Lie nu 2008; Sachs 1995). F om his
momen , as Boye poin ed ou , o es less spi i s like Le
Co busie , he eedom o pe cep ion gi en by ae ial mo-
bili y and he e iginous capaci y o go ound he plane
ans igu ed his hough (Fig.5).
The ae ial expe iences we e no he ul ima e eason o
he change unde gone by a ma u e Le Co busie ’s ca ee
in he hi ies, bu we can ac ually pe cie e hese ligh s as
one o he main mo i es ha led he machinis a chi ec
o in eg a ion and openness a eas. These saw he g ow h
o he Associa ion pou une Réno a ion A chi ec u al (AS-
CORAL), c ea ed in Pa is in 1942, chai ed by him, in a
ime ha wi nessed how he amazing ae ial a lases made
by De on aines, Chomba de Lauwe (Fig.6) o Ma onne
began o ci cula e success ully among esea che s and lay-
people.
A e he expe ience o ASCORAL p o ound mee -
ings, held once a o nigh all h oughou one yea , he
ou come was he publica ion o Les ois é ablissemen s
humains. The i le o his ex kep he key ha allowed us
o unde s and Le Co busie ’s posi ion nea he geog aphic
discipline when he u ned o a concep like “es ablishmen ”
o en de ined and used by pe sonages like Jean B uhnes,
who eso ed o i in his a emp o de end he alue o
Human Geog aphy.
The in oduc ion s a ed wi h he usual d ama ic
analysis o he mode n ci y, a ecu ing elemen in he
a chi ec ’s ex s. In his case he showed a new, wide iew,
he way he ai plane indic ed he ci y in Ai c a (Fig.7).
F om his excep ional obse a o y LeCo busie equa ed
mode n ci ies wi h as dese s, whe e sand ga e i s place
opa emen s and mo o ehicles, whe e he exodus o sa -
elli e ci ies and subu bs only b ough bigge ci cula ion
p oblems.
In o de o eco e ha mony in he u ban sys em and
i s balance wi h he na u al medium, i was necessa y
o e ie e he ules ollowed by human es ablishmen s
h oughou his o y, dis ega ded by he machinis socie y
and hen pe cei ed mo e clea ly om abo e: “F om hen
on, hings a e again wi hin he human scope. Na u e has
been aken in o conside a ion again. The ci y, ins ead o be-
coming an implacable block o s one, is a as pa k whe e
he planne will dis ibu e housing uni s wi h co esonding
size, eal e ical communi ies” (Le Co busie 1945:20).
In ac Le Co busie ’s expedi ious p oposals we e hen
applied o he e i o y. In his e o o c ea e an abs ac
model o o ganise he plane su ace, na u e domes ica ed
by man gained p ominence, he kind o na u e ha had le
i s condi ion o wild o ake on he ole o new public space.
A a ional, comp ehensible model, hough able o admi he
di e si y and ichness o he na u al habi a unde i s wing.
A malleable model (Fig.8).
Geog aphy ook a leading ole in he making o his
new model and in de ining he new public space, geog-
aphy spoke and Le Co busie lis ened: “geog aphy has
been begged o p o ide a i s indica ion o a layou o a
linea indus ial ci y h ough he e i o y” (Le Co busie
1945:130).
The analysis ha he ae ial iew made possible allowed
him o o ce ully a i m ha “human es ablishmen s” had
sp ead all o e he plane in a chao ic, ca as ophic way as
a esul o he change in he e i o ial model in oduced
by he Indus ial Re olu ion. The mid- wen ie h cen u y
wen h ough a deep c isis and he si ua ion p o oked a
adical ans o ma ion o he spa ial occupa ion model:
“Human es ablishmen s mus occupy he space in speci i-
cally assigned poin s, and i s shape, o igina ed om in in-
sic alues, is a anged in a ue buil biology. The s udy o
Fig.5. Le Co busie , Ai c a , (1935). Figu e 122:
“Bogha i dese . The wa e low: The meande . A A and
B connec ion poin s”
Fig.6. E bil (I ak) ae ial iew om Décou e e aé ienne du
monde. Chomba de Lauwe, Paul; C oche -Damais, Pie e;
Ma helo , Pie e; G iaule, Ma cel; Pa en , Michel; Mo aze,
Cha les; Schlienge , Geo ges. Pa is: Ho izons de F ance. 1948
76 R. Pico. The plane a y ga den. Whe e na u al and human in e wine
hese h ee ypes o es ablishmen s will allow us o p og ess
owa ds ce i udes. Space occupa ion can be econside ed,
which p ope ly means: a ange he space, make human ge-
og aphy and geoa chi ec u e. Gi e hese h ee es ablishmen s
a s a u e, con e hem a biology ha akes in o accoun he
na u e o he land which ecei es hem and he na u e o
he men ha will gi e hem a soul, such is he desi e in
which we eel ou sel es en i led o pe se e e” (Le Co busie
1945:68).
This new unde s anding o he amewo k o he
plane esul ed in a model based on he clea de ini ion
o h ee keys which allowed a anging he e i o y in a
balanced way: he ag icul u al ope a ion uni , he indus-
ial linea ci y and he adio-cen ic ci y o exchanges
(Fig.9). These we e scien i ic p oo s o wha Le Co bus-
ie ga e he ambi ious name o mode n u ban biology
which o e ed ules, laws and c i e ia ha ook shape in
easy p inciple schemes. Howe e , as hese schemes we e
suppo ed and ex ended on a na u al se ing, hey we e
eage o adop isky o ganic mo phologies ecognising
he quali ies o a habi a o e which hey did no seem
o p e ail any mo e.
A new unde s anding o he e i o y lay unde his
adap a ion p ocess which Le Co busie wen h ough.
De o ma ion o he new ci y’s s uc u e owa ds o ganic
shapes was due o a clea accommoda ion o he ichness
(bo h na u al and cul u al) o he medium whe e hose
aluable places, which s a ed o be ecognised as na u al
pa ks, u u e museums o he e i o y, we e des ined o
become he con empo a y e i o y-ci y’s backbone public
space, a new ca pe ex ending no only a he oo o he
ci ies, bu also all o e he plane .
Conclusion: a New Global O de h ough
public space
Fo Le Co busie his was also he momen o s ongly
de end wha could ha e been he main elemen o his
discou se, wi h p ecedence o e echnique, aes he ic mu-
a ions o any o he pa ial eason: “ he absolu e dissolu-
ion o all he limi s bo de ing na ions, g oups, indi iduals
o en i ies in he pas ” (Fig.10) as Pancho Lie nu has
poin ed ou .
In hose yea s, om he mid- wen ie h cen u y, he
ai c a helped o es ablish he beginning o a New Global
O de whe e human geog aphy p inciples inally p e ailed
o e he ou da ed app oaches o he egional discipline.
Less han o y yea s had passed since Le Co busie hea d
Augus e Pe e (1874–1954) say ha hanks o a ia ion
bo de s did no make sense any longe , sca cely wen y
yea s since he ex s published by P a z, Giedion o Hi ch-
cock s a ed o build he “uni e sal” cha ac e o mode n
a chi ec u e, bu he e iginous de elopmen o ae onau-
ics would le mo e han wo hund ed million passange s
plough h ough he plane by ai e e y yea om 1950.
Fig.7. Le Co busie . Ai c a , (1935). Figu e 102
Fig.8. Le Co busie , U banisme des ois é ablissemen s
humains (1945)
Fig.9. Le Co busie , U banisme des ois é ablissemen s
humains (1945). Geoa qui ec u e, a pa icula e sion o
Human Geog aphy sugges ed by Le Co busie .
Jou nal o A chi ec u e and U banism, 2018, 42(1): 70–79 77
Unde s anding o he plane began o ha e much mo e o
do wi h a ep esen a ion in isoch onous lines han wi h
con en ional ca og aphies.
Awa e o hese eali ies, Le Co busie de o ed in U ba-
nisme des ois é ablissemen s humains a whole chap e o
he ai c a and i s e ec s on he de elopmen o ci ilisa ion.
We can d aw om i key p inciples which claim o he new
ole o ligh s. He insis ed on a ce i ude al eady poin ed ou
in P ecisions a ew yea s be o e, when he had ca ego ically
s a ed: “I seems o me ha ai line ne wo ks will become i s
e icien ne ous sys em”.
I is he e, in d awing his ne ous sys em, whe e hose
wo king on he e i o y– a chi ec s, u ban planne s, ge-
og aphe s, enginee s, biologis s,… poli icians– mus pu
all hei in e es s. Among Le Co busie ’s d awings, he
mos impo an ones we e hose in which he medium
became global, like in P ecisions, when he in oduced a
comple e sec ion abou Ame ica o when he ied o ex-
plain Eu ope’s new geog aphy in U banisme des ois é a-
blissemen s humains (Fig.11).
As C is ine Boye has poin ed ou : “Le Co busie
eso ed o his amous e ain ‘ he hou is s iking’: he
ime is a o able; now we absolu ely mus look ahead and
plan o a wo ld in which he ae ial ou e will lie sup eme”.
Besides, i came o no su p ise o see his in e es o a ia-
ion’s capaci y o build up a new communica ion ne wo k
in he plane , jus in a ew yea s, hose a ound he hi d
and ou h decades o he wen ie h cen u y, in which Le
Co busie ’s poli ical commi men , i e u ably shown in
his pa icipa ion in wo neosyndicalis newspape s such as
Plans (1931–1932) and P élude (1933–1935), pushed him
s ongly owa ds hose in e es s.
The g ea es speci ici y in his sense was o e ed in he
publica ion o “U banisme e aé onau ique”, an a icle
in he jou nal Techniques e A chi ec u e, which de o ed
a whole issue o he opic in 1947. A signi ican pa o
Le Co busie ’s sho ex was in ended o gloss he spec-
acle o na u e, un eiled in a new dimension hanks o he
ai plane, a new pe spec i e ha led him o highligh he
alue o he u al en i onmen and how i was d ama i-
cally abandoned in he indus ial ci ilisa ion. He also e i-
ied how he es ablishmen o a new e i o ial ne wo k,
due o he eedom o ci cula e hen allowed by a ia ion,
ep esen ed a g ea oppo uni y o e i alise ha wo hy
bu ma ginalised e i o y by means o a comple e p ocess
o ein en ing he space occupa ion model: “This map o
Eu ope, o example, shows in e na ional ways o wo k and
exchange ha lea e be ween hem as peasan á eas and
as na u al ese es; [...]. He e A ia ion p epa es, wi h he
helicop e , he closes way o e i alize he coun yside” (Le
Co busie 1947: 464).
By analysing he illus a ions included in “U banisme
e aé onau ique” we can unde s and how a his poin
he p esence o ai c a o e he ci ies s a ed o gene -
a e doub s in Le Co busie , who, wen y yea s be o e, had
planned he ai po in he e y hea o his Ville Con em-
po aine wi hou hesi a ion. Then, in U banisme e Aé o-
nau ique, he chose a pic u e by Buonamico Bu almacco
(1290–1340) o equa e he heigh s o he mode n ci y wi h
a s ained sky, ull o angels and demons (Fig.12).
A e his ex ensi e pe sonal expe ience wi h ligh s and
hei scope, Le Co busie unde s ood he need o place he
ai po away om he ci y and disc ee ly i i wi hin he
landscape, by w i ing: “The beau y o he ai po , his is
he splendo o space!”. Thus, in he d awings published in
“U banisme e aé onau ique” and U banisme des ois é a-
blissemen s humains he e minal was no he huge emple
o machinis mobili y anymo e and became a simple line
Fig.10. Le Co busie . “U banisme e aé onau ique” (1947):
„San F ancisco-New Yo k, Pa ís, Moscú, Bogo á, San iago, Rio,
Buenos Ai es .a new human ad en u e“
Fig.11. Le Co busie . U banisme des ois é ablissemen s
humains (1945). ASCORAL Eu opean Cha . New guidelines
o he eu oopean landscape
78 R. Pico. The plane a y ga den. Whe e na u al and human in e wine
in he ho izon (Fig.13), ha dly pe cep ible, also subdued
by he s eng h o he landscape, by he cons uc ion o
ha new habi a whe e na u al and human in e wine.
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Fig.13. Le Co busie . “U banisme e aé onau ique” (1947) Te minal building is jus a
single line in he ho izon
Fig.12. Il T iun o della Mo e. Buanamico Bu almaco (1290–1341). Le Co busie go a pa o his
esco as illus a ion in „U banisme e aé onau ique“ (1947) wi h he ex : “We ha e al eady expe ienced
he Pa is sky illed by he sound o ou engined planes. Each ime one o hem passed h ough my oo
ga den, we had o s op alking …”