Villa Savoye (Poisy, France), 1931, Modern, Functionalist

VILLA SAVOYE

      Designed by Le Corbusier and constructed in 1931, Villa Savoye combined all of his “5 points”. The house has a structural system based on pilotis,  free façade, ribbon windows, a flat roof terrace, and open plan. The opportunity for him to materialize his manifesto in this building transformed Corbusier’s career, and the principles of international style. He describes his view on the function of the home with the phrase “The house is a Machine for Living”. The inspiration for the home was based on the motor car, which he deemed to be technological magic. The movement of the car is interpreted radically for the time, where it arrives under the house, as oppose to an outdoor space.

The façade of Villa Savoye is comprised of reinforced concrete and exposed structural supporting pilotis. This combination of materials enabled Corbusier to design the home with a sense of freedom of form, additionally allowing him to blend the interior and exterior spaces. Inspired by the picturesque movement, he aimed to create a structure that blended in with nature. He favored the term “promenade” over “circulation” and took great care to create an experience for the visitor as the travel through the home.  The entrance to the home, also under the house, is single concrete step that leads the visitor to a ramp. This is the beginning of where he expresses his idea of the unfolding route. 

The ramp serves as the axial point for the house, and flows from the first floor to the roof terrace. Traveling from the ground floor up, the progression entails a series of turns that allow the visitor to discover the home in a curated way. Approaching the first level, the hanging gardens to the left are shown through horizontal glazing, while at the top of the landing they arrive at the living room which features glass doors that enable full view of the space. The hanging garden to the left is a room with no roof, creating the feeling of flowing from inside to outside seamlessly. Continuing up the ramp, the next platform has a wall just high enough to block any views, and as you turn you now begin to approach the rooftop terrace, where you arrive to a flowing structure containing a single cut out that perfectly frames a view of the valley ahead. 

      The manipulation of the circulation to control the experience of the visitor, is in conjunction with his manipulation of light. Upon entering the building, with the entrance being at the center of the expanse, one begins their journey in the shade, with light streaming down from the upper levels. Progressing up the ramp you are only allowed screened views of what you’re about to approach until you arrive into the light filled living spaces. Continuing up the ramp you are now exposed to more light and finally at the top you are completely exposed. 

Although Le Corbusier intended to create a free-form, blended structure, he still worked with a grid to design the spaces, including the curves and diagonals. He believed an underlying geometric form was crucial to create a sense of harmony within the building. He states, “geometry is the daughter of the universe”. Utilizing traditional shapes such as cubes and cylinders, as well as a grid system, he achieves consistence of scale and proportion. By regulating the placement of the columns, he sets a rhythm for the organic shapes to follow. This also allowed for readable perspectives, which ties back to his primary curated circulatory experience. 

Bibliography:

The making of architectural promenade: Villa Savoye and Schminke House

Samuel, Flora; Jones, Peter Blundell. Arq : Architectural Research Quarterly; Cambridge Vol. 16, Iss. 2,  (Jun 2012): 108-124.

Sbriglio, Jacques, and Le Corbusier. Le Corbusier: La Villa Savoye. Fondation Le Corbusier, 1999.