Le Corbusier wanted to tear down central Paris and replace it with identical glass towers surrounded by highways. He called houses “machines for living” and meant it as a compliment. He was the most influential architect of the twentieth century, and the cities that followed his ideas most faithfully became the ones people liked least.

This episode traces Le Corbusier from his Swiss watchmaking town through his radical urban plans, his masterpiece at Chandigarh, and the ongoing debate about whether he saved or destroyed modern cities.

• His Plan Voisin proposed demolishing central Paris and replacing it with uniform towers
• He designed Chandigarh, the planned capital of Punjab, as a complete modernist city
• His Villa Savoye became the defining icon of the International Style in architecture
• His ideas influenced public housing projects worldwide, many of which became notorious failures