Dear Corbu...
    What is the true role of computers in architecture
           - The Digital Divider

Ah Yes, computers.. Philips Electronics asked me to design their pavilion for the Brussels Expo back in 1958. The reason behind my design was not to add another building to my career, but to create the first "electric game", Electronic, Synchronic, in which light, line, color and volume, movement and idea compromise the whole, surprising and yet accessible to the public."

I gave Edgard Varesse carte blanche to compose the computer music for Le Peome Electronique , as long as it was only 480 seconds long. The only problem was that the Dutch staff at Philips were downright hostile to Eddy's computer music, forcing me to come all the way from India and bang my fists on the table...et voila!...no more problems from the staff.

My sketch for Le' Poeme Electronique

Some have described my final building as a seashell covered in silver concrete, but for me it was only a container…a mere vessel without aesthetic claim. Inside the space, a model of an atom hung from the ceiling and the walls were all bare and lofty, with 425 speakers placed all around. In another area, a nude figure hung from the ceiling. Then, with standing room only crowds, the lights were dimmed… and Eddy's eerie sounds emerged from every direction.

Washes of colored lights swept and changed over the surfaces. The sounds of rattles, whistles, thunder, and murmurs floated about. Human sounds, modified electronically of course, emitted from the walls. With all modesty, it was, as the kids today say….

"Le Bombe"!

Computers are not tools, they are an entirely new medium for expression. No architect worth his/her glasses could think otherwise, though we need to demand much more creative software applications. I am a fan of SketchUp, as for me, it is the only software that comes close to supporting L' espace indicible .

               - Corbu

P.S. I only wish we had had the computational ‘math hammers' we do today to handle the structural calcs for Le Peome'. Of course, back then I made Ludwig do all the calcs on his slide rule…it took him ten days, and he still hasn't forgiven me.

                - Corbu

Dear Corbu...
    What do you think of the following statement My fundamental thesis is that the ultimate task of architecture is to act in favor of humankind; to interpose itself between us and the natural environment in which we find ourselves, in such a way as to remove the gross environmental load from our shoulders. The central function of architecture is thus to lighten the very stress of life. Its purpose is to maximize our capacities by permitting us to focus our limited energies upon those tasks and activities which are the essence of human experience.
           - James Marston Fitch

It is sad to say that too many professionals, professors and students have never thought about architecture in such a way. It is apparent that much of what is designed today is done so because it looks "cool", for eyes only. However, I rather fancy another statement you made; "In architecture there are no spectators; there are only protagonists and participants"
                - Corbu

Dear Corbu...
    Are you familiar with the rules of tape-ball? We need an umpire for our game in the design studio this week. Are you interested?
           - Intramural Tape Ball Society for Architecure Student

Ah Yes, tape-ball. Ludwig and I used to play le tape-ball with the monks at La Tourette all the time. The only rule is: AIM FOR THE HEAD! I would be very happy to personally umpire a game. But remember it's all fun and games until someone gets their eye poked out.
                - Corbu

Dear Corbu...
    Many people consider you to be more than just the master of space and form. They consider you to be a god of architecture. If this is so, why did you permit Philip Johnson to be the architectural whore that he freely admitted to being? If you are a true god of architecture, is Philip now burning in architecture hell where he belongs?
           - Disgusted and in Doubt

You are entirely correct...about the god part, thank you. There are only two things that keep P.J. from burning in that horrible architecture hell, his balding head and his cool glasses. He was a stylish guy, you know. As to his 'architect of the evening' tendencies, I think he was afraid of being beaten up by his pimp.

Philip Johnson, who passed away in February 2005
                - Corbu