Charlotte Perriand (1903–1999) is one of the most well regarded modernist designers of the 20th Century and collaborated with other iconic architect/designers including Le Corbusier and Jean Prouvé. She led a long and colourful life and leaves a strong legacy of design furniture and interior designs.
Primarily concerned with the concept of the space, its function and overall appearance, Charlotte Perriand was able to connect the architecture with the interior space and create a full vision for how people could live in it. She is known for he work with Le Corbusier on Unité d'Habitation, a housing project typology design which was established in Marseille and Berlin.
Her furniture works were entirely ahead of their time and remain relevant to a current audience. As a 24 year old she was invited to join Swiss architect Le Corbusier at his studio in Paris where they completed designs for highly recognisable objects like the LC series of lounge furniture which were designed by her but overtaken by her male colleagues and put under the Le Corbusier initials.
Independently she also created some impressive design objects like the flexible storage design ‘Nuage’ which was released in 1940. This was produced through inspiration she gathered from her time in Tokyo as an advisor for industrial design to the Ministry for Trade and Industry. It became a place of great influence to her design perspective and orientation towards natural, organic materials.
Perhaps the most important of her design works was the interior and furniture design for Les Arcs ski resorts in Savoie (1967–1982) which were sparse, understated and carefully colourful, including the kind of post war shelving and modernist furniture she had become known for.
