LE CORBUSIER

Urban Designer’s Personal Information

Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, a Swiss-French architect better known by his pen name Le
Corbusier, was a pioneer of modern architecture as well as a designer, painter, and urban
planner. His creations fused an ambitious sculptural expressionism with the modern
movement's functionalism.
Corbusier was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, on October 6, 1887. He was the
second child of Madame Jeannerct-Perrct, a pianist and music instructor, and Edouard
Jeanneret, a dial painter for the town's famed watch business. The young Le Corbusier was
greatly influenced by his family's Calvinism, passion for the arts, and excitement for the Jura
Mountains because it was there that his family sought refuge from the Albigensian Wars in the
12th century.

Academic Experience
When he was 13 years old, Le Corbusier quit elementary school and enrolled at the École des
Arts Décoratifs in La Chaux-de-Fonds to learn his father's enameling and watch face engraving
trade. There, Le Corbusier learned art history, drawing, and the naturalist aesthetics of Art
Nouveau from Charles L'Eplattenier, whom he later referred to as his sole teacher.
Le Corbusier received his first practice on local projects when L'Eplattenier decided he should
become an architect after completing three years of study. Le Corbusier traveled extensively
between 1907 and 1911 on his advise, and these journeys were crucial to the self-taught
architect's education. He made three significant architectural discoveries during these years of
travel in the Mediterranean and central Europe.
His notion of residential dwellings was inspired by the juxtaposition between large communal
rooms and "individual living cells" at the Charterhouse of Ema in Galluzzo, Tuscany. He learned
classical proportion through the Late Renaissance architecture of Andrea Palladio (Palladio,
Andrea) in the Veneto region of Italy and the ancient sites of Greece. Additionally, he learned
how to work with light and how to use the landscape as an architectural backdrop from popular
architecture in the Mediterranean and the Balkan peninsula.
Professional Experience
The period between 1922 and 1940 was remarkably rich in both architectural and urban
planning endeavors. In this period, he had established an architectural partnership with cousin
Pierre Jeanneret. their unfinished projects always caused as much of a stir as his completed
structures did as soon as they were published and circulated. Le Corbusier displayed two
concepts at the Salon d'Automne in 1922:

 the Citrohan House and an accompanying diorama of a city

 Contemporary City for Three Million Inhabitants, that demonstrated the concept of green
parks and gardens at the base of a cluster of skyscrapers ahead of its time.
In 1923, Le Corbusier produced Vers une architecture, a book that compiled and edited several
of his essays from L'Esprit Nouveau (Towards an Architecture). The paper outlines Le
Corbusier's contemporary architectural tenets, or what he called the "Five Points of a New
Architecture" and which would later come to be known as the "International Style."
At the Exposition International des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in 1925, the world's
fair that gave rise to the term Art Deco, Le Corbusier presented these ideas in built form for the
general public in his own Esprit Nouveau pavilion. His pavilion was a part of the Plan Voisin, a
Paris adaptation of his 1922 Contemporary City for Three Million Inhabitants.
In 1927, Le Corbusier took part in the League of Nations' design competition for the
organization's new Geneva headquarters. One of the best displays of the architect's talent for
functional analysis is seen in his idea, which has a wall of insulating and heating glass.
However, the controversy surrounding the rejection of his design gained him the visibility he
required by associating him with contemporary avant-garde architecture. The International
Congresses of Modern Architecture (CIAM) were established in La Sarraz, Switzerland, in 1928
as a direct result of the Geneva crisis, initially with the intention of defending the avant-garde
architectural values that had been disproved in Geneva.
Due to the Great Depression, Le Corbusier's commissions in France started to decline in the
1930s. However, after his visits to the USSR, he began to dabble in Communism and largely
abandoned his support for capitalism.
In 1945, Le Corbusier was given the commission for the Unité d'Habitation, a new big housing
project in Marseilles. From the late 1930s onward, he had wanted to make the design the
foundation of housing in his massive urban projects.
When the British left South Asia in 1947, the territory between Pakistan and India was divided,
and Le Corbusier was given the contract to construct Chandigarh, the new capital of the
northwest Indian province. From 1951 onwards, he would spend the next ten years working
diligently on the project. Le Corbusier fostered a new generation of Indian architects, including
Balkrishna Doshi, during his lengthy stay in India.
Other Contributions in Urban Design
Throughout his six-decade career, Le Corbusier redesigned cities from India to South America.
His city ideas featured a grid-like layout, consistent architecture, skyscrapers, wide boulevards,
and sizable parks. Contrary to the Italian Futurist city designs of the same period, such as those
by Antonio Sant'Elia, Le Corbusier's more pragmatist designs for cities always tried to include
nature.
In twelve different nations, he constructed 75 structures, and he contributed to more than 400
architectural projects. Through his nearly 40 books and hundreds of published pieces, he
spread his ideals. Architectural historian Kenneth Frampton describes his wide career as "poetic
and often provocative interpretation of the technologies and ideals of the new machine era,"
which made him one of the most well-known and divisive artists of the 20th century.

Remarkable Projects related to Urban Design

1. Chandigarh, India

The city of Chandigarh was designed to contain 300,000 people dispersed across 47 numbered
sectors structured on a grid. Each sector is 800 × 1200 meters in size and is made up of self-
sufficient units with amenities like a store, a school, a health facility, and spaces for prayer and
recreation. Le Corbusier prioritized the vehicle in this plan, connecting the sectors with broad
boulevards. The city was zoned according to its various uses: residential buildings, a
commercial center, a medical and university complex, a recreation area, and a central park
centered around a big man-made lake. This was done to correspond to modern concepts of
usefulness and efficiency.
2. The Radiant City (Ville Radieuse)

The Radiant City (Ville Radieuse), which was released in 1933, is the product of Le Corbusier's
ambitions. The intricate, all-encompassing plan gave greater attention to every aspect of the city
than any earlier plot, with a particular focus on urban life and residential areas. Additionally, it
suggested reorganizing rural land into "Radiant Farms" and "Radiant Villages" outside of urban
areas.
The Radiant City is also puritanical. Housing is limited to 14 square meters per person utilizing
geometric design and repetition, which is a significant departure from Corbu's earlier designs.
The flats are in long, geometric 14-story buildings; he maintains that streets (again hung in the
air) on a differently spaced grid will break up their monotony and compares them directly to
second-class train cabins, demonstrating "the results of rigidly observed economy."
 3. The Contemporary City (Ville Contemporaine)

The Contemporary City (Ville Contemporaine), a general idea for a city of 3 million
people, was Le Corbusier's first excursion into urban design. The design for the future
city was first displayed in 1922 at the Paris Salon d'Automne and was based on "a
theoretically water-tight method to get at the fundamental principles of town planning"
(Le Corbusier, 1929). The foundation of this logical, unyielding concept is a perfect site
that is flat, open, and devoid of any structures. From here, he draws a grid of 400 yards
with a central business center of 24 identical glass buildings separated by a large park.
By doing this, he hopes to enhance density while reducing traffic: 95% of this space
would be open and comprise different squares, eateries, and theaters.

REM KOOLHAAS

Urban Designer’s Personal Information

Rem Koolhaas is a Dutch architect and urbanist noted for his cerebral, inventive designs. His
work looks for a connection between technology and humanity; while being labeled as a
modernist, deconstructivist, and structuralist, many of his detractors argue he leans toward
humanism. Koolhaas is a professor at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.
Remment Lucas Koolhaas was born on November 17, 1944, in Rotterdam, Netherlands. His
father, a novelist, was the cultural director for Indonesia during the four years he spent there as
a child.
Koolhaas was born close to the conclusion of World War II and raised while the Netherlands
was still recovering from the conflict. He observed how the Dutch infrastructure needed to find a
solution to modern problems while preserving its traditional past. He moved to Indonesia at a
time when the nation was rebuilding itself after gaining independence from Dutch rule. He was
exposed to the shifting requirements of a society that sought to preserve tradition while
adjusting to new necessities due to his postwar upbringing.
Following in his father's footsteps, the young Koolhaas began his career as a writer but ended
up with an architecture career similar to his grandfather, Dirk Roosenburg. He worked as a
journalist for the Haase Post in The Hague before attempting to write screenplays.
Academic Experience
While he was pursuing a career as a writer, his interest shifted to architecture. He enrolled in the
Architectural Association School of Architecture in London in 1968, and subsequently, in 1972,
he earned his degree from Cornell University. He also attended the Institute for Architecture and
Urban Studies in New York City as a result of being awarded the Harkness Fellowship to travel
and conduct research in the country. Due to this experience, he was able to complete his book,
"Delirious New York - A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan," even before beginning his actual
profession. It is thought that Rem Koolhaas' modernist approach was initially reflected in this
book. Koolhaas achieved popularity as a theorist prior to being well-known as an architect in
this fashion.
Professional Experience
Koolhaas gained recognition when he cofounded the global architecture company OMA (The
Office for Metropolitan Architecture) in 1975. After winning an architectural design competition to
build The Hague, a new Dutch Parliament building, in 1978, OMA immediately rose to
prominence. They collaborated on the design of this structure with Zaha Hadid, a student of
theirs who rose to prominence as an architect in the late 20th and early 21st centuries for her
avant-garde and abstract works. The Netherlands Dance Theater, also in The Hague, in 1987;
Nexus Housing, in Fukuoka, Japan; and Kunsthal, a museum constructed in Rotterdam in 1992
were among the company's early works.
In 1998, Koolhaas' OMA finished construction on Maison à Bordeaux, arguably the most well-
known residence created for a man in a wheelchair. Koolhas and his company also turned the
French city of Lille in the north into a tourism destination between 1989 and 1994 wherein saw
the opening of the Channel Tunnel as a chance to completely redesign the city.
When Koolhaas was in his mid-fifties, in 2000, he received the renowned Pritzker Prize. The
New York Times hailed the Dutch architect as "one of architecture's most important minds,"
calling him "that rare combination of visionary and implementer—philosopher and pragmatist—
theorist.
Since receiving the Pritzker Award, Koolhaas's creations have become renowned. His first
residential building in New York City is among his notable creations, along with the Netherlands
Embassy in Berlin, Germany (2001), the Seattle Public Library in Seattle, Washington (2004),
the CCTV Building in Beijing, China (2008), the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in Dallas, Texas
(2009), the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in Shenzhen, China (2013), the Bibliothèque Alexis de
Tocqueville in Caen, France (2016) and the Concrete at Alserkal Avenue in Dubai, United Arab
Emirates (2017).
His work is notable for its unexpected bursts of color, asymmetry, and arduous search for
unknown spatial dimensions. Critics dubbed him a "deconstructivist" because of these qualities,
although unlike other deconstructivists of the day, his work was always backed by a careful
thought process. He has always displayed a strong desire to use architecture to raise living
standards and aesthetics. The master design for a new city center in Lille, France, is one
excellent example of the contributions he made to architecture as a result of this personal
interest, which naturally led him to gravitate into urban planning.

Other Contributions in Urban Design

Koolhaas has published books and other works that theorize the reconstruction of decaying
cities and metropolitan areas throughout his career. Delirious New York (1978) is the first work
to examine the evolution of urban design, notably in New York, and the ways in which design
aids in the functioning of a metropolis. In this book, Koolhaas compares his work to that of older
urban design thinkers like Le Corbusier, who created the internationally renowned United
Nations Headquarters and had a considerable impact on the development of New York City.
Koolhas and OMA also turned the French city of Lille in the north into a tourism destination,
Euralille.

Remarkable Projects related to Urban Design

1. Euralille, London

Rem Koolhaas and his architecture firm, OMA, were given the job to revitalize a run-
down area of Lille in Northern France. His original design for Lille Grand Palais, which
has gained architectural acclaim, was part of his master plan for Euralille.

The modest medieval town of Lille, located north of Paris, has a one million square
meter business, entertainment, and residential complex grafted onto it. These well-
known structures were part of the Koolhaas urban redevelopment Master Plan for
Euralille, along with brand-new hotels and eateries.

2. Nexus World Housing

In the Kashi District of Fukuoka, Nexus World Housing is a collection of 24 separate

residences, each standing three floors tall and crammed into two blocks. A private
vertical courtyard enters each home, bringing light and space into the center.
 “We expect too much of new buildings, and too little of ourselves.”

JANE JACOBS
Urban Designer’s Personal Information
Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was an urbanist and activist whose works advocated for a new,
community-based approach to urban development. Although she had no professional
experience in planning, her 1961 book The Death and Life of Great American Cities introduced
revolutionary concepts that have now become accepted wisdom among successive generations
of architects, planners, politicians, and activists.
Jane Jacobs was born on May 4, 1916, as Jane Butzner. Bess Robison Butzner, her mother,
was a teacher and a nurse. John Decker Butzner, her father, was a doctor. They belonged to a
Jewish family in Scranton, Pennsylvania, a place where the Roman Catholic religion is
predominate.
In 1944, she married Robert Hyde Jacobs, Jr., an architect who was involved in the
development of aircraft during the war. They invested in a home in Greenwich Village wherein
he resumed his work in architecture after the war, while she resorted to writing.
Academic Experience
She completed her high school education at Scranton High School, where she was an
uninterested student who chose to read a book on her own, hidden beneath her desk,
rather than pay attention to her teacher. She completed two years of general education
coursework at Columbia University's School of General Studies, taking classes in geology,
biology, law, political science, and economics.
Jacobs was given a sizable grant by The Rockefeller Foundation in 1958 to study city planning,
which she did for three years at the New School in New York.
Professional Experience
She began her career with an unpaid internship at a newspaper company in Scranton, but as
soon as she was capable, she left for New York and moved in with her sister. She started
working for Iron Age magazine right after graduating from Columbia University's School of
General Studies. Due to inequality she encountered throughout the Iron Age, she fought for
women to get equal pay and the freedom to form unions.
During World War II, she started out writing features for the Office of War Information before
transitioning to reporting for Amerika, a newspaper owned by the United States. When Amerika
announced its relocation to Washington, D.C. in 1952, she left the company. She then joined
the Architectural Forum magazine, published by Henry Luce of Time Inc., and started taking
on urban planning assignments there.
She kept on penning pieces regarding urban planning initiatives and eventually worked as an
assistant editor. After looking into and reporting on a number of urban development initiatives in
East Harlem and Philadelphia, she came to the conclusion that the majority of the urban
planning consensus lacked compassion for the participants, especially African Americans. She
noticed that "revitalization" frequently occurred at the cost of the community.
In 1956, she filled in for fellow Forum member, Douglas Haskell and gave a highly regarded
speech at Harvard. The lecture was well received, and she was asked to contribute to Fortune
magazine after discussing her impressions of East Harlem and the significance of "strips of
chaos" over "our concept of urban order." She took advantage of the opportunity to pen
"Downtown Is for People," in which she criticized Parks Commissioner Robert Moses for his
approach to redevelopment in New York City. According to her, Moses ignored the needs of the
neighborhood by placing an excessive emphasis on ideas like scale, order, and efficiency.
In 1961 after finishing her studies in city planning, she published the book for which she is most
renowned, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Many others who worked in the field of
city planning criticized her for this, frequently using derogatory language directed at women,
which diminished her reputation. She received criticism for omitting a racial analysis and not
fighting all gentrification.
Her intentions are clarified right from the introduction:
"This book is an attack on current city planning and rebuilding. It is also, and mostly, an attempt
to introduce new principles of city planning and rebuilding, different and even opposite from
those now taught in everything from schools of architecture and planning to Sunday
supplements and women's magazines. My attack is not based on quibbles about rebuilding
methods or hair-splitting about fashions in design. It is an attack, rather, on the principles and
aims that have shaped modern, orthodox city planning and rebuilding."
She covers the history of city planning and how America arrived at the principles in place with
people entrusted with bringing about change in cities. She particularly opposed Decentrists who
favored population decentralization and supporters of architect Le Corbusier.
According to Jacobs, city planners disregarded the opinions of city dwellers, who were
frequently the most outspoken opponents of the "obliteration" of their districts. Expressways
were strategically placed through neighborhoods, destroying the natural ecosystems. Low-
income housing was frequently introduced in a way that made neighborhoods already
dangerously erratic.

Other Contributions in Urban Design

Jacobs became an activist by opposing Robert Moses' proposal to demolish old structures in
Greenwich Village and replace them with high-rise buildings. She often disagreed with the top-
down approach to decision-making used by "master builders" like Moses. She advocated
against New York University's excessive growth. She was also against the planned freeway that
would have replaced a large number of homes and businesses in Washington Square Park and
the West Village with two bridges to Brooklyn and the Holland Tunnel. This would have
devastated Washington Square Park, and protecting the park became a focus of protest. In the
course of one protest, she was detained. These campaigns served as turning points in Moses'
expulsion and changed the course of urban planning.
Aside from The Death and Life of Great American Cities, she also penned other books centered
around her ideals about urban planning:
 The Economy of Cities. 1969.
 The Question of Separatism: Quebec and the Struggle Over Sovereignty. 1980.
 Cities and the Wealth of Nations. 1984.
 Systems of Survival. 1992.
 The Nature of Economies. 2000.
 Dark Age Ahead. 2004.
She is also considered as the mother of Vancouverism, an urban planning and architectural
style distinguished by a medium-height commercial foundation and narrow, high-rise residential
buildings to suit dense population densities and the need to preserve certain corridors.

Remarkable Projects related to Urban Design

1. The Death and Life of Great American Cities

Her most influential work, as well as perhaps the most influential work on cities and
urban planning, is The Death and Life of Great American Cities. This book, which was
published in 1961, was well-read by both the general public and planning experts. The
1950s' urban renewal efforts, which the author argued had dissolved communities and
produced isolating, artificial urban areas, are strongly criticized in the book. In the book,
she bemoans the uniformity and sterility of contemporary planning while praising the
richness and complexity of historic mixed-use districts. Jacobs argued for the repeal of
zoning restrictions and the restoration of free land markets in order to create dense,
mixed-use neighborhoods, and she frequently used New York City's Greenwich Village
as an example of a thriving urban neighborhood.

2. The Economy of Cities

The premise of this book is that cities are the fundamental drivers of economic progress.
Her primary claim is that urban import replacement is the cause of the economy's
tremendous expansion. According to Jacobs, local infrastructure, talent, and production are
increased when imports are replaced. Additionally, according to Jacobs, the additional
output is later exported to other cities, providing them with a fresh opportunity to replace
their imports, creating a positive cycle of growth.
3. The Question of Separatism: Quebec and the Struggle over Sovereignty
The book by Jacobs advocates the idea that peacefully achieving Quebec's eventual
independence is best for Montreal, Toronto, the rest of Canada, and the rest of the world. She
uses the example of Norway's secession from Sweden and how it benefited both countries as a
model. The Quiet Revolution, which gave rise to the modern separatist movement, is examined,
as is Canada's historical reliance on natural resources and foreign-owned industries for its own
economic progress.
The pertinent public opinions of René Lévesque, Claude Ryan, and then-Prime Minister Pierre
Trudeau are also severely examined; one example being their failure to grasp that two distinct,
independent currencies are crucial to the viability of an independent Quebec and a smaller
consequent Canada, an issue that is important to her book.
4. Dark Age Ahead
Dark Age Ahead, which was released in 2004 by Random House, presents Jacobs's
claim that "North American" culture is exhibiting indicators of a downward spiral akin to
the fall of the Roman empire. Her discussion centers on the "five pillars of our culture
that we depend on to stand firm," which can be summed up as the following: the nuclear
family and community; competence in education; scientific freedom of thought;
parliamentary democracy and reasonable taxes; and corporate and professional
accountability. In contrast to her earlier writings, Jacobs' view is much more dismal in
this book, as the title suggests.

DANIEL BURNHAM
Urban Designer’s Personal Information
Daniel Burnham, full name Daniel Hudson Burnham, was an American architect and urban
planner who had a significant influence on American cities. He was born in Henderson, New
York, on September 4, 1846, and died in Heidelberg, Germany, on June 1, 1912. He was
recognized for his extraordinarily effective management of the World's Columbian Exposition of
1893 and his views about urban planning. He had a significant role in the creation of the
skyscraper.
Burnham was the youngest son and the sixth of seven children. His parents belonged to the
Swedenborgians, also known as the Church of the New Jerusalem (now New Church), a radical
Christian sect founded by Swedish scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg who opposed
church hierarchy and emphasized serving others.
Academic Experience
In January 1855, Burnham and his family relocated to Chicago. He studied at Snow's
Swedenborgian Academy and later Central High School there, where he was noted for his
leadership and artistic talent. After he graduated in 1863, his parents sent him to Waltham,
Massachusetts's newly established New-Church Theological School for additional study. The
Reverend Tilly Brown Hayward, a Swedenborgian tutor, helped him become ready for college.
Burnham met the author and architect W.P.P. Longfellow through Hayward, who sparked his
interest in architecture. He failed both of his college entrance examinations for Harvard and Yale
because, as he subsequently recalled, he was "unable to write a word." Years later, he would
receive honorary degrees from both universities.
Professional Experience
After moving back to Chicago, Burnham started working as a draftsman for renowned architect
and civil engineer William Le Baron Jenney. Ambitious, youthful, and restless, he left his work
with Jenney to seek his fortune in Nevada, where he tried mining and also ran for the state
senate. After failing in both of his attempts, he went back to Chicago in 1870, this time prepared
to pursue a career in architecture seriously. In 1868, he wrote to his mother that he would
become "the greatest architect in the city and country."
Burnham began working as a draftsman at Carter, Drake and Wight in 1972, and within a year
he had established his own practice in cooperation with a fellow employee named John
Wellborn Root. They built the first skyscraper of their era, which was considered one of the very
first skyscrapers in America. It had 21 stories and a height of 302 feet. Their other works include
"The Rookery," "The Reliance Building," "The Monadnock Building," etc. Burnham, along with a
few other architects, assumed responsibility as the chief of construction and chief consultant
architect for the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, after Root's passing in 1893. This
project is considered a great achievement in his career.
After successfully completing a number of projects, Daniel Burnham made the decision to
present a new plan for Chicago. This plan was intended to provide architectural solutions for the
city's future challenges as well as control the anticipated growth of this American city. The
availability of parks within walking distance of every resident and other significant decisions
about the lakefront and river were the most notable aspects of this concept. After finishing this
project, he continued to be passionate about city planning and applied what he had learned to
many other cities, including Cleveland, San Francisco, Baguio, and Manila.
Other Contributions in Urban Design
Burnham worked as the World Columbian Exposition's primary coordinating architect in 1893,
putting out the massive "White City's" classical architecture in a grand and logical Beaux-Arts
style.
Burnham also created plans for Manila and Baguio, both then colonial cities, and submitted
them to the U.S. Philippine Commission in 1905.
In 1909, the Chicago Plan, which outlined goals for the city's future, was co-authored by Daniel
Burnham. It was the first thorough plan for a city's regulated growth in the United States and
was a result of the "City Beautiful" movement. The plan stipulated that every resident should live
close to a park and made ambitious recommendations for the lakefront and river. Burnham
proposals were then requested for Cleveland, San Francisco, and the Washington, D.C. Mall,
among other locations.

Remarkable Projects related to Urban Design

1. Plan of Chicago
A Plan of Chicago, created by Burnham and co-author Edward H. Bennett, was first
drafted in 1906 and published in 1909; it outlined goals for the future of the city. It was
the first comprehensive plan for a city's regulated growth in the United States and was a
result of the City Beautiful movement. The concept featured bold suggestions for the
river and shore. Additionally, it stated that every resident should live close to a park.
Burnham gave his services under the sponsorship of the Commercial Club of Chicago in
an effort to advance his own cause.

Burnham envisioned Chicago as a "Paris on the Prairie," building on the blueprints and
conceptual ideas from the World's Fair for the south lakefront. Chicago's new backdrop
was made up of public works projects, fountains, and boulevards with French influences
that radiated out from a central, domed municipal hall. Even though only a portion of the
plan was ever carried out, it set the bar for urban planning, foreseeing the necessity to
manage urban growth in the future and influencing Chicago's development long after
Burnham's passing.

2. The Cleveland Group Plan

The Cleveland Group Plan of 1903 is a spectacular civic space fronting Lake Erie and flanked
by monumental public structures. The Plan is a complex work taken by Daniel Burnham, John
Carrère, and Arnold Brunner. It was intended to serve as the ideal focal point for the city, which
at the turn of the 20th century was a burgeoning industrial powerhouse. The Group Plan was
developed amid a vibrant historical setting and has a distinct ancestry from the World's
Columbian Exposition of 1893. The creation of the Plan, both in terms of design and
construction, sparked interest in the tenets of the City Beautiful Movement and encouraged the
creation of similar civic centers around the nation.

3. Philippines
William Howard Taft, the governor-general of the Philippines, offered Burnham the commission
in 1904. He was given the chance to remodel Manila and develop a summer capital that would
be built in Baguio. Burnham did not need to obtain local support for his plans because the
Philippines were recognized as a territory. The project was designed over the course of six
months, with only six weeks spent in the Philippines. Burnham did not discuss the proposal with
the locals in the Philippines while he was there. Burnham was given the option of selecting
William E. Parsons as the lead architect when William Cameron Forbes, Commissioner of
Commerce and Police in the Philippines, approved of his proposals. Then Burnham left to
monitor the project from the mainland.
Burnham departed after that in order to monitor the project from the mainland. Burnham's
designs placed a strong emphasis on better sanitation, a unified aesthetic (Mission Revival),
and outward symbols of governmental authority. In Baguio, government buildings loomed from
the cliffs above the town, while in Manila, vast boulevards stretch out from the capitol complex.
The Philippine Supreme Court authorized the seizure of native Igorots' 14,000 acres (5,700 ha)
of land for the Baguio project. In Manila, war-ravaged neighborhoods were left untouched, but a
luxurious hotel, casino, and yacht clubs were built for visiting mainland dignitaries.