Kitchen stories: Cuisine Atelier Le Corbusier, type 1

Abstract

A built-in kitchen unit from the Unité d'Habitation, Marseilles, France, Cuisine Atelier Le Corbusier, type 1, designed by Charlotte Perriand in cooperation with the Atelier Le Corbusier, is described. A total of 321 apartments of the Unité were furnished with this kitchen. In order to define an effective treatment plan and to acknowledge the importance of this kitchen, extensive research was essential. The analytical results, the decision-making process, and the ongoing conservation treatment of the kitchen unit now in the collection of Die Neue Sammlung, Munich, are presented.

Keywords:

• Le Corbusier
• Charlotte Perriand
• Unité d'Habitation
• Reconstructive conservation
• Kitchen
• Modern paints
• Post-war design
• Cuisine Atelier Le Corbusier Type 1

Acknowledgements

The project was based on the diploma research of Julia Reischl, carried out in close cooperation with the Chair of Conservation, Arts Technology and Conservation Science, Technische Universität München. We would like to thank Pierre Costerg, Francois Duboisset, Arthur Floss, Christian Gruber, Claartje van Haaften, Carolina Hall, Benoit Jenn, Thea van Oosten, and the Fondation Le Corbusier for advice and help.

Materials and suppliers

Aluminium fabrication: Studio Martelleria, Munich (www.martelleria.de)

Paint: kt. COLOR AG, Switzerland (www.ktcolor.ch/de/home.aspx).