Le Corbusier

He was one of the icons of modernism and one of the pioneers in modern high design. Le Corbusier is a designer, an urbanist and a writer. He was one talented man in so many ways. One of his works that got my attention most is Villa Savoye, pronounced as villa savua. This house is located in Poissy, a small commune outside of Paris. Le Corbusier established “The Five Points” of architecture. They are as follows, pilotis (slender columns), flat roof terrace, open plan, ribbon windows and free façade (free of structural members). All these 5 points are found in the overall of Villa Savoye. Villa Savoye was built between 1928 and 1931. It was built using reinforced concrete. Villa Savoye was originally built as a country retreat on behest of the Savoye family. The Nazis whom sent the Jewish Savoye family during World War 1 sent them to concentration camps and eventually took over the house as storage. However, Villa Savoye was renovated thoroughly in 1985 to 1997 and it is open to visitors at present. He designed Villa Savoye carefully in response to the view and orientation of the sun. He placed the main entrance hall, ramp and stairs, garage, chauffeur and servants rooms on the ground floor. The master bedroom, son’s bedroom, guest bedroom, kitchen salon and external terraces were at the first floor. At the second floor, a series of sculpted spaces forms a solarium. Le Corbusier incorporates a series of ramps moving from the lower level all the way to the rooftop garden, which requires the inhabitant to slow down and experience the movement between spaces. Villa Savoye is a very influential building because of its imitations found worldwide. The lower level serves as the maintenance and service programs of the house. 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