Villa Savoye Le Corbusier

Building: Villa Savoye
Location: Poissy, France
Year Built: 1929
Architect: Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier is popular for stating, “The house is a machine for living.”  This statement is not simply translated into the design of a human scaled assembly line; rather the design begins to take on innovative qualities and advances found in other fields of industry, in the name of efficiency.
In response to his aspirations and admiration of mechanized design, Le Corbusier developed “The Five Points” of architecture, which is a list of prescribed elements to be incorporated in design.  The Five Points of architecture can be thought of as Le Corbusier’s modern interpretation of Vitruvius’ Ten Books on Architecture, a checklist of necessary components of design.  So much so that Villa Savoye is thoroughly tailored to Corbusier’s Five Points.

The Five Points of Architecture:

_Pilotis  [slender columns]

_Flat Roof Terrace
_Open Plan
_Ribbon Windows
_Free Façade  [free of structural members]
The pilotis that support the decks, the ribbon windows that run alongside the hull, the ramps providing a moment of egress from deck to deck; all of these aspects served as the foundation of the Five Points of Architecture.

Upon entering the site, the house appears to be floating above the  picturesque background supported by slender pilotis that seem to dissolve among the tree line, as the lower level is also painted green to allude to the perception of a floating volume.

One of most interesting aspects of the house is the curved glass façade on the lower level that is formed to match the turning radius of automobiles of 1929 so that when the owner drives underneath the larger volume they can pull into the garage with the ease of a slight turn.

The living quarters, or the upper volume, are fitted with ribbon windows that blend seamlessly into the stark, white façade, which void the façade(s) of any hierarchy.  The ribbon windows begin to play with the perception of interior and exterior, which does not fully become expressed until once inside.

Villa Savoye is a house designed based on the architectural promenade. Its experience is in the movement through the spaces.  It is not until one becomes familiar with the subtle peculiarities that the movement and proportionality of the spaces evokes a sense of monumentality within the Parisian suburb.

Resources: greatbuildings.com, wikiarquitectura.com, galinsky.com