{"id":9156,"date":"2010-06-28T23:13:56","date_gmt":"2010-06-29T03:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/?p=9156"},"modified":"2020-05-26T20:50:49","modified_gmt":"2020-05-27T00:50:49","slug":"inspired-concrete-le-corbusiers-concrete-light-fixture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2010\/06\/28\/inspired-concrete-le-corbusiers-concrete-light-fixture\/","title":{"rendered":"dreaming in concrete"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n Knowing we have a serious thing for concrete, Lydia Wills sent us this picture of a light fixture designed in 1960 by Le Corbusier<\/a> for the Chandigarth Zoo in India. It’s massive – about a yard across, a yard high and 22 inches deep – yet wonderfully graceful. We’d buy it if had $36,000 to spare (what it went for recently at auction) and could move it.\u00a0But we’re happy just to have seen it: our view expanded about the possibilities of cast concrete (as Marcel Breuer did once with concrete block<\/a>).<\/p>\n Like so many things that come our way, the photo of Le Corbusier’s extraordinary light fixture sent us following one idea after another…we started learning about cast concrete<\/a>, wondering if we could do it ourselves…envisioning not just a\u00a0Tobias Wong-<\/a>inspired\u00a0door stop made by using an Aalto<\/a>, or other vase, as a mold for concrete…but something BIG (why haven’t we seen any concrete slabs as bed frames? yes, yes, too heavy, we know….)…we were wondering how to get hold of bigger-than-a-doorstop molds for concrete and discovered the Smooth-On Liquid Rubber<\/a> that can be poured, brushed or sprayed onto whatever you want to make a mold…hhmm…<\/a><\/p>\n Wondering about\u00a0Changidarth<\/a> was sent us to India, and the discovery that Le Corbusier had been invited to design India’s first planned city there<\/a>…he ended up designing part of the city and some monumental buildings…which we’d never seen before…<\/p>\n