Selected Bibliography Architecture - Form Space and Order | Page 147

VE RTICAL LINEAR ELEMENT S

In 1926, Le Corbusier stated what he believed to be the “Five Points
of the New Architecture.” His observations were to a great extent
the result of the development of reinforced concrete construction
that began in the late nineteenth century. This type of construction,
in particular the use of concrete columns to support floor and roof
slabs, afforded new possibilities for the definition and enclosure of
spaces within a building.
Concrete slabs could cantilever beyond their column supports and
enable the “free facade” of the building to be “light membranes”
of “screen walls and windows.” Within the building, a “free plan”
was possible since the enclosure and layout of spaces were not
determined or restricted by the pattern