H. Allen Brooks, architectural historian at the University of Toronto known for coining the name “Prairie School” and authoring a number of important books on the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and pioneering architect and designer Le Corbusier, passed away last Monday at the age of 84.
In 1997 the Press published: Le Corbusier’s Formative Years: Charles-Edouard Jeanneret at La Chaux-de-Fonds. According to this entry in the Canadian Encyclopedia his comprehensive biographical account of Le Corbusier’s early career—the culmination of over twenty years of research—was applauded for the challenge it posed to existing scholarship, “correcting the mistaken impression that Le Corbusier’s work had begun in Paris,” and “was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in biography and won a first prize from the Association of American Publishers for books in architecture and urban planning.”
To find out more Brooks’ fascinating life and groundbreaking studies on the history of modern architecture navigate to the Canadian Encyclopedia or read his obituary at the University of Toronto website. Or follow the link for more on Le Corbusier’s Formative Years.