THE PHILOSOPHICAL CITY OF RABELAIS AND ST TERESA-- LE CORBUSIER AND EDOUARD TROUIN'S SCHEME FOR ST BAUME

Abstract

In the years following the Second World Ward, Edouard Trouin and the architect Le Corbusier put enormous effort into a design for a city and underground basilica focussing on the grotto of Mary Magdalene in St Baume in the south of France. The spiritual programme for the project was to be governed by a synthesis of ideas derived from the works of Rabelais and St Teresa, an unlikely combination. What follows is an exploration of their influence on the development of this ambitious scheme.