He was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, in French-speaking Switzerland, with the name of Charles Edouard Jeanneret-GrisAt the age of 29, he moved to Paris where he adopted the pseudonym "Le Corbusier," the surname of his maternal grandfather. His father worked lacquering watch cases for the watchmaking industry in his hometown, and his mother was a pianist and music teacher.

In 1900, Le Corbusier began his apprenticeship as an engraver at the art school in La Chaux-de-Fonds. One of his teachers initially steered him toward painting and later toward architecture. In 1905, he designed his first building, a single-family home for a member of the art school.

Once in Paris, he worked for 15 months in the studio of Auguste Perret, a pioneering architect in reinforced concrete construction. He then traveled to Germany to study the country's architectural trends. There he met Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius. He also visited Berlin, where he became familiar with the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, which was beginning to gain recognition in Europe at that time.

Le Corbusier became famous for the so-called International Style of architecture, which he developed along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius, and Theo van Doesburg. He was a highly admired architect in his time and influenced several generations of young architects.