Focus on Pierre Jeanneret’s sofa set, ca. 1955

PIERRE JEANNERET
Sofa set, ca. 1955
Chandigarh, India

These iconic pieces originally furnished administrative buildings in Chandigarh, India, a city where LE CORBUSIER and PIERRE JEANNERET fully expressed their modernist vision.

In 1950, following India’s independence, Pandit Nehru appointed Le Corbusier to undertake a vast modernization program for Chandigarh. Le Corbusier then entrusted his cousin and close collaborator Pierre Jeanneret with overseeing construction and designing most of the furniture. Jeanneret opted for readily available materials, with an emphasis on the different local species of wood, rot-resistant and perfectly adapted to the region’s climate.

This sofa set, finely re-upholstered, was specifically designed to provide comfort to visitors to administrative buildings; its low profile helps create a welcoming atmosphere, perfectly suited to its role as reception furniture. These iconic creations exemplify the thoughtful integration of form and function, embodying Pierre Jeanneret’s architectural vision for the Chandigarh project, where each building and its furnishings are integrated into a harmonious and cohesive whole.

Private collection, South of France