[Closed] The 25th Nichi-Doku Joint Lecture: “From Charles-Édouard Jeanneret’s Urban Morphology to the Emergence and Circulation of the Concept of “Urbanisme” at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century: Intellectual and Cultural Transfers across the French-speaking, German-speaking, and Japanese Worlds” (26 November 2025 | Heidelberg)

Lecturer: Asst. Prof. Sayuri Hayakawa Institute for the Future of Human Society, Kyoto University   Commentator: Prof. Dr. Brigitte Sölch Institute for European Art History, Centre for European History and Cultural Studies, Heidelberg University Date & Time: 26  November 2025 , 15:30–17:30 (Door opens at 15:15) Venue: Fischmarkt 2, 69117 Heidelberg | Seminarraum, 3. OG Language: English

Abstract

Le Corbusier, one of the emblematic architects of modernism, is well known for his proposals of geometric, grid-based cities grounded in rationalist ideals. In contrast, in his early years, when he worked under his real name Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, he developed an organic and regionalist approach to urban form. This lecture examines Jeanneret’s early urban morphology and the emergence and circulation of the French concept of “urbanisme” in the early twentieth century.

The first part focuses on Jeanneret’s unfinished manuscript La Construction des villes, analysing his typological studies of urban elements such as blocks, streets, and squares. It explores how his perceptual and corporeal logic of urban form was formed through the internal coexistence of Frenchand German-speaking intellectual traditions.

The second part investigates how “urbanisme”, which appeared in France as a new disciplinary and theoretical framework, was later received and reinterpreted in Japan, in contrast to the technically oriented Japanese concept of “都市計画” [town planning] that has often been discussed in relation to British and German influences.

By repositioning Jeanneret’s thought as a mediation between form and ideology and tracing these linguistic and conceptual circulations, the lecture offers a more multilayered perspective on the formation of modern urban thought.

Programme

Registration & Contact

Deadline: 24 November 2025 (Monday)  
Walk-in participants are also welcome!

Please send an e-mail containing your name and affiliated organization to the following address:

Kyoto University European Center
E-Mail: info_eu{at}oc.kyoto-u[dot]ac.jp
Telephone: +49(0)6221.54-30034

* The lecture series “Nichi-Doku Joint Lecture” is organized in close cooperation of the Kyoto University European Center and the Heidelberg University Office, Kyoto, the liaison offices of both universities in Japan and Germany. It aims at promoting and strengthening research exchange between Kyoto University and Heidelberg University.