Villa Savoye in Poissy 1931

'A house is a machine for living in.' Is the architect closer to the artist or the engineer? Le Corbusier is perhaps the most well-known architect of the twentieth century. Born in Switzerland in 1887, he designed buildings internationally. Despite his controversial character and dismissive approach to non-Western cultural heritage, Le Corbusier's projects are renowned for their distinctive modernist style, combining simplicity and precision. 🏠 This building, the Villa Savoye, was constructed between 1928 and 1931 near the western border of Paris. It was commissioned by Eugénie and Pierre Savoye as a weekend retreat. In her outline for the project, Eugénie Savoye specified a number of requirements, including electricity and the number of rooms. Crucially, however, the Savoyes allowed Le Corbusier complete creative freedom in the appearance of the completed villa. ✍️ Consisting of reinforced concrete in monotone white, the facade (exterior) of the Villa Savoye is futuristic and experimental. Le Corbusier exactly calculated the dimensions of the pilotis to fit the vehicle owned by the Savoye family. This placed the car at the very core of the project, speaking to social developments and the industrialisation of everyday life by the early 1930s. 🚗 The building embodies the five key ‘Principles of Architecture’ identified by Le Corbusier in his 1923 manifesto. These are as follows: Pilotis – free-standing stilts which bear the weight of the structure. Flat roof – providing space for a garden or gatherings, unlike the space wasted by pitched rooves. Free floor plan – open layout, with no partition walls. Horizontal windows – to maximise access to the view and allow light to enter. Free façade – an open and unrestricted exterior. Take a look at the photograph of the villa. How many of these points can you identify? So, what do you think? Avant-garde icon, or characterless structure? Alongside numerous other Corbusian projects, the villa was designated a World Heritage Site in 2016. Does this building embody the spirit of modernity, or mark a departure from the majesty of traditional architectural design? 💭👇 Editor: Lucy Jude Grantham