--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem was Le Corbusier was a genius…" description: "\"The problem was Le Corbusier was a genius and an enormous artist, but he tried to resolve problems to which there is no solution. So the idea to demoli..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e27/leon-krier-22420_art_the-problem-was-le-corbusier-was-a-geniu_17236.jpg" --- # The problem was Le Corbusier was a genius and an enormous… ![“The problem was Le Corbusier was a genius and an enormous artist, but he tried to resolve problems to which there is no solution. So the idea to demolish the centre of Paris in order to adapt it to the car - he drew it! - is something not even the most bloody dictators conceived.” quote by Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e27/leon-krier-22420_art_the-problem-was-le-corbusier-was-a-geniu_17236.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e27/leon-krier-22420_art_the-problem-was-le-corbusier-was-a-geniu_17236.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e27/leon-krier-22420_art_the-problem-was-le-corbusier-was-a-geniu_17236.jpg) > “The problem was Le Corbusier was a genius and an enormous artist, but he tried to resolve problems to which there is no solution. So the idea to demolish the centre of Paris in order to adapt it to the car - he drew it! - is something not even the most bloody dictators conceived.” [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Le Corbusier's visionary modernism ignored practical constraints, proposing radical redesigns like demolishing central Paris for cars, a level of hubris beyond even authoritarian planners. **In simple terms:** Visionary design can become reckless when detached from reality. Key Takeaway Grand ideas must respect feasible solutions. Themes modernism urban planning hubris technological determinism authoritarianism Mood critical cautious reflective Type critical historical architectural When to use this quote - city redevelopment proposals - policy debates on car-centric design - historical critiques of modernist projects Key Concepts architectural theory city morphology transportation impact Practical Applications - urban policy analysis - academic critique of modernism Questions to Reflect On - What balance should be struck between visionary design and practical feasibility? - How can planners avoid repeating past overreaches? A Different Perspective While bold, such proposals can inspire innovative solutions when tempered with pragmatic constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Dictator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictator/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Paris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paris/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Resolve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resolve/) ## Related quotes > [I got money, money my problem (Le'Goo). 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Many pictures haven't become works of art simply because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-french-sloan/most-art-students-are-generous-till-it-comes-to-squeezing-their/) [John French Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-french-sloan/) > [In his very rejection of art Walt Whitman is an artist. He tried to produce a certain effect by certain means and he succeeded…He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/in-his-very-rejection-of-art-walt-whitman-is-an-artist-he-tried-to/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I first decided architecture was for me when I saw Le Corbusier's designs in a Japanese magazine in the 1930s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenzo-tange/i-first-decided-architecture-was-for-me-when-i-saw-le-corbusier-s/) [Kenzo Tange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenzo-tange/) > [“We leave to monsieur Le Corbusier his style that suits factories as well as it does hospitals. 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His style is utterly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/le-corbusier-is-an-outstanding-writer-his-ideas-achieved-their-impact/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [When I was 16 and on a tour of Europe, I fell in love with Le Corbusier's Notre Dame du Haut chapel in Ronchamp,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roisin-murphy/when-i-was-16-and-on-a-tour-of-europe-i-fell-in-love-with-le/) [Roisin Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roisin-murphy/) > [ For me \[ Giovanni Lorenzo \] Bernini, \[Francesco \] Borromini, and \[Donato\] Bramante have been as significant as Alvar Aalto, Frank Lloyd Wright, Le… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-meier/for-me-giovanni-lorenzo-bernini-francesco-borromini-and-donato/) [Richard Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-meier/) > [I like to be in New York. Le Corbusier described it in the 1930s as a 'wonderful catastrophe.' It is still a wonderful catastrophe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-rams/i-like-to-be-in-new-york-le-corbusier-described-it-in-the-1930s-as-a/) [Dieter Rams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-rams/) > [“Amor mío, no te quiero por vos ni por mí ni por los dos juntos, no te quiero porque la sangre me llame a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/amor-m-o-no-te-quiero-por-vos-ni-por-m-ni-por-los-dos-juntos-no-te-2/) [Julio Cortázar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/) > [ The ideas of \[ Le Corbusier \] that actually found their way into practice were deeply destructive - for instance, the tower-in-a-park, which mutated… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/the-ideas-of-le-corbusier-that-actually-found-their-way-into-practice/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) ## More by Leon Krier > [If a dictator takes up my ideas, the resulting town will survive the political system that commissioned it and stand as a social good.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/if-a-dictator-takes-up-my-ideas-the-resulting-town-will-survive-the/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [The Eisenhower Memorial competition and project have stirred a remarkable polemic, the center of which is not President Eisenhower or Washington, D.C. but Mr.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/the-eisenhower-memorial-competition-and-project-have-stirred-a/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [I grew up in a small town that was absolutely a perfect embodiment of new urbanism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/i-grew-up-in-a-small-town-that-was-absolutely-a-perfect-embodiment-of/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [I don't build because I am an architect. I can make true architecture because I do not build.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/i-don-t-build-because-i-am-an-architect-i-can-make-true-architecture/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [Lots of English people say exactly the opposite of what they mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/lots-of-english-people-say-exactly-the-opposite-of-what-they-mean/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [Surprisingly, the Eisenhower Memorial design contains almost none of the known Gehry-box of tricks. His giant etched chain-link curtain, first applied in 1979 to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/surprisingly-the-eisenhower-memorial-design-contains-almost-none-of/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [A city can only be reconstructed in the form of urban quarters. A large or a small city can only be reorganized as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/a-city-can-only-be-reconstructed-in-the-form-of-urban-quarters-a/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [Modernist architecture and town planning is inimical to human beings... based on the Darwinian concept that evolution is open ended, that there must always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/modernist-architecture-and-town-planning-is-inimical-to-human-beings/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [Viewed from a certain distance and under good light, even an ugly city can look like the promised land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/viewed-from-a-certain-distance-and-under-good-light-even-an-ugly-city/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [You can't have the finest buildings if they're not in focus. They become like nice cars parked on the street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/you-can-t-have-the-finest-buildings-if-they-re-not-in-focus-they/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [Tiredness sets a natural limit to what a human being is prepared to walk daily, and this limit has taught man all through history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/tiredness-sets-a-natural-limit-to-what-a-human-being-is-prepared-to/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [Against expectations I was charmed by Gehry's Edgemar development, which housed the Santa Monica Museum of Art, and positively awed by the Bilbao Guggenheim.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/against-expectations-i-was-charmed-by-gehry-s-edgemar-development/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [As is the case with all good things in life - love, good manners, language, cooking - personal creativity is required only rarely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/as-is-the-case-with-all-good-things-in-life-love-good-manners/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [For architecture, nature provides only indications and analogies, not models to imitate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/for-architecture-nature-provides-only-indications-and-analogies-not/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) > [All buildings, large or small, public or private, have a public face, a facade; they therefore, without exception, have a positive or negative effect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-krier/all-buildings-large-or-small-public-or-private-have-a-public-face-a/) [Leon Krier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) [Explore all 27 Leon Krier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-krier/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. 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