Le Corbusier

One of the most famous houses of the modern movement in architecture, the Villa Savoye is a masterpiece of LeCorbusier's purist design. It is perhaps the best example of LeCorbusier's goal to create a house which would be a "machine a habiter," a machine for living (in). Located in a suburb near Paris, the house is as beautiful and functional as a machine.
The Villa Savoye was the culmination of many years of design, and the basis for much of LeCorbusier's later architure. Although it looks severe in photographs, it is a complex and visually stimulating structure. As with his church of Notre Dame du Haute, Ronchamp, the building looks different from every angle. After falling into disrepair after the war, the house has been restored and is open to the public.
The design features of the Villa Savoye include:

modulor design -- the result of Corbu's researches into mathematics, architecture (the golden section), and human proportion
"pilotis" -- the house is raised on stilts to separate it from the earth, and to use the land efficiently. These also suggest a modernized classicism.
no historical ornament
abstract sculptural design
pure color -- white on the outside, a color with associations of newness, purity, simplicity, and health (LeCorbusier earlier wrote a book entitled, When the Cathedrals were White), and planes of subtle color in the interior living areas
a very open interior plan
dynamic , non-traditional transitions between floors -- spiral staircases and ramps
built-in furniture
ribbon windows (echoing industrial architecture, but also providing openness and light)
roof garden, with both plantings and architectural (sculptural) shapes
integral garage (the curve of the ground floor of the house is based on the turning radius of the 1927 Citroen)

Table of Contents:

Ackergil Castle

Ackergil Castle a

Ackergil Castle b

Ackergil Castle c

Ackergil Castle cc

Ackergil Castle d

Ackergil Castle e

Ackergil Castle f

Ackergil Castle g

Amsterdam

Balfour Castle

Balfour a

Balfour b

Balfour c

Balfour c2

Balfour d

Balfour e

Balfour f

Balfour f2

Balfour g

Barcelona

Bath, England

Bath, England a

Bath c

balloon ride a

Balloon ride b

Bath Ipix

Boston

Boxes

Boxes 2

Tahan

Celebration, Florida

02 19 98

02 20 98

02 21 98

02 22 98

Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh, Scotland a

Edinburgh, Scotland b

Edinburgh, Scotland (Caledonian hotel)

Elms

Fallingwater

Forsse House Hotel

Gare de Monteparnasse

Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow

Glasgow 2

Helsinki

Le duc salt mines

Loire Valley

Loire Valley one

Loire Valley two

Loire Valley three

Longleat

London, England

07 01 99 a

07 01 99 aa

07 01 99 b

07 01 99 bb

07 02 99a

07 02 99 b

ritz hotel

07 03 99a

07 03 99b

07 03 99c (eurostar)

07 03 99d (eurostar)

07 03 99e (eurostar)

London to New York

Lyon, France

Lyon 1

Lyon 2

Lyon 3

Lyon 4

Mackintosh

Mackintosh a

Mackintosh b

Mackintosh Hill House

Mackintosh House for an art lover a

Mackintosh House for an art lover b

Mackintosh House for an art lover c

scotland street school

Madrid and Cordoba

Matlock, England

Mirror

Mulhouse (vitra design museum, Switzerland)

Newport, Rhode Island

08 01 98 a Martha's Vineyard

Chateau sur mer

College

Martha's Vineyard

07 28 98

Oslo

New York

New York a

New York b

New York c

Paris

07 4 99 a

07 04 99 b

07 04 99 c

alain ducasse (dinner)

bricard (hardware)

Le Corbusier a

Le Corbusier b

Le Corbusier c

Madeline/Eiffel Tower

Parc Andre Citroen

Park de bercy

ritz public spaces

ritz views

Ritz

07 28 96

Spring 1998

June 1, 1998

June 3, 1998

June 4, 1998 rodin museum