Symposium The "Moment 1925" — Le Corbusier

While in 1925 Le Corbusier (with Pierre Jeanneret) presented a work at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts that was billed as ‘a total synthesis of all [his] research’ but also as “a milestone in the decorative arts ‘ – the Pavillon de l’Esprit Nouveau – what we choose to call the ’Moment 1925‘“ can be more broadly considered a fundamental space-time in the architect’s work and thinking. The culmination of research and reflection carried out over more than fifteen years on architectural, urban, ‘decorative”, pictorial and editorial issues, it also represented a new beginning for the artist, who was then enjoying growing fame in France and beyond, and began to amend or sometimes revise his principles: a turning point. This turning point marked a period of sometimes contradictory research, in which balance and movement towards new programmes or theories were in dialogue. It has no strict chronological boundaries, but shifts according to the object analysed or the analysis itself, like circles variably defined by the arms of a compass. Commonly associated with a “New Spirit”, this moment multiplies its incarnations and interpretations while transcending them to find various characterisations.