The LC2 Le Corbusier sofa: Pride of the International Style


Sofas are an integral part of any household, being for its ability to provide comfort and relaxation to the individual. However, the sofa can also be a source of art; an expression in which ideas imparted by the best of human civilization. One such example is the LC2 Le Corbusier sofa. The pride of the International style of design, the modernist leather-and-steel LC2 sofa exudes both comfort and elegance to anyone who lays eyes upon it.

The LC2 Le Corbusier sofa was the brainchild of Le Corbusier, a renowned Swiss-French architect and furniture designer. Born Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, Le Corbusier believed in the concept of furniture being an extension of the human body, allowing unrestricted movement and freedom to the individual. In his book, the L'Art Décoratif d'aujourd'hui, Le Corbusier explained that the “human-limb” furniture is like a docile servant who is discreet and modest in order to leave its master (or in this case, the occupant) to move freely.

The original idea behind the LC2 Le Corbusier sofa was for it to be accommodated onto luxury cruise ships, as the sofa was considered by many to be too metallic for home use at the time. Aside from having it complying with the standards of the human form, Le Corbusier also conceptualized the LC2’s design to be that the external structure of the sofa is on the outside, creating a “basket-like” effect that holds the cushioning seat together.

The LC2 Le Corbusier sofa was first shown to the public in 1929 as part of the historical Salon d’Automne fine art exposition. Then in the year 1959 Mrs. Heidi Weber, a museum owner from Zurich, Germany, put the LC2 sofa and the rest of the Le Corbusier’s Grand Comfort collection into production. With the consent of Le Corbusier, Mrs. Weber changed the original petite lounge chair appearance of the LC2 and replaced it with a much larger structure. She then took away the sofa’s spring mechanism and used state-of-the art fabricating techniques to layer the exterior frame with chrome. Mrs. Weber also reworked the cushions to have a more formal and tailored appearance. Although Le Corbusier was solely credited for the LC2 design, Heidi Weber’s contributions in the post-design process of the sofa as well as the rest of the collection were highly contributory to its success.

Today the LC2 Le Corbusier sofa is one of the most recognized icons of the Modernist and International and its reproductions are highly sought after by collectors and modernist style enthusiasts alike. The sofa has also been featured in art centers such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and is often shown in architectural and furniture design magazines across the globe.