Charlotte Perriand’s Open KitchenA story of protest, conflict, intellectual property theft, and betrayal… A story of protest, conflict, intellectual property theft, and betrayal—Charlotte Perriand’s revolutionary kitchen design for the Cité Radieuse in Marseille deserves full recognition from the general public. Designed between 1947 and 1952, Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse in Marseille, commonly referred to as “Cité du Fada” (City of the Crazy), is one of France’s most well-known buildings. In 1946, Le Corbusier asked Perriand to contribute to the interior architecture of the building, including the kitchens of the apartments. By 1947, Perriand had created a 3D model and detailed sketches of the kitchen, incorporating a serving hatch that connected the dining room to the kitchen area. Later, the design evolved into a kitchen with an open bar—“cuisine-bar ouverte”—allowing direct interaction between the host and guests. Born from Perriand’s frustration with the traditional role of women in the home—isolated in a separate space—this kitchen placed women at the center of domestic life. However, thanks to Le Corbusier, Perriand’s work was overshadowed by his own name. Years later, a dispute between the two designers led Le Corbusier to enlist André Wogenscky’s wife to assist with designing the interiors. This collaboration resulted in a heavily copied version of Perriand’s kitchen, which became the only one featured in the Cité Radieuse and the only one exhibited at the 1950 Salon des Arts Ménagers in Marseille. The concept of the open kitchen as we know it today directly stems from Perriand’s numerous design iterations over the years, including the Loucheur House (1928), the "Maison au Bord de l’Eau" (1934), and her chalets (1936–1937). A revolutionary design for its time, Perriand’s open kitchen was among the first widespread home layouts conceived with women at the forefront—aimed at redefining their role in the household and placing them at the center of domestic life.
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