Corbu at Harvard

Now that Frank Lloyd Wright is gone, chief rivals for the title of world dean of international architects are German-born, Chicago-based Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 73, whose skin-and-bones style (Manhattan's Seagram building) has spread the vogue for glass-curtain walls across the U.S., and France's prickly, Swiss-born Le Corbusier, 72, whose dramatic structures (Ronchamp Chapel) qualify as large-scale sculptures in concrete. Last week "Corbu," who has long been rankled by the fact that U.S. clients have fought shy of his turbulent genius, landed his first U.S. commission--a $1,500,000 Visual Arts Center for Harvard University.

Surrounding himself with all the secrecy of a high diplomatic emissary, Corbu flew in from Paris in person to make a four-day inspection of the site (adjacent to the Fogg Art Museum), was given convincing proof that his absence had long been noted. Architecture students staged an impromptu reception, complete with 16-ft. effigies of Corbu's stylized Modulor figure, cheered him to the rafters. Exclaimed the delighted Corbu: "What spirit! Une atmosphere morale!"

Corbu was cozy about his plans for the center, borrowed a line from Wright: "It must grow from the inside out. The concept must be biological, not static. A beautiful seashell is not a fac,ade; it is a shell. This is the essence of architecture." This left Harvard wondering whether it was getting a structure as beautiful as a conch or as homely as a clam. But as it would be his only showpiece in the U.S., Corbu could be counted on to make it impressive.

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