Le Corbusier (1887-1965):

Le Corbusier was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer of the 20th
century, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. His
designs combine the functionalism of the modern movement with bold sculptural
expressionism.

He began his career by attacking the architecture of the victorian age and contrasting it
with what he saw as the beauty and intelligence of modern engineering. He recommended
that the houses of the future be ascetic and clean, disciplined and frugal without any
unnecessary decoration.

The function of a house is to provide -

− a shelter against heat, cold, rain, thieves, and the inquisitive

− a receptacle for light and sun
− a certain number of cells appropriated to cooking, work, and personal life

"what modern man wants is a monk cell well lit and heated with a corner from which he can
look at the stars"

His grammar of forms was markedly influenced by geometrical figures which emerge not
only in his preference for a. A clear stereometric forms like cube, cylinder, but also b.
Geometrical organization. He used reinforced concrete in his works.

In 1926 he wrote a revolutionary document in which he developed the bases of modern

architecture. In 1929 based on his theories, he built his masterpiece Villa Savoye.

The five points of Modern Architecture

Lift the building over Pilotis-

− Pilotis was the central element from which others evolved

− Separation of load-bearing construction from the space enclosing wall
− Freestanding column lift the first floor above the ground
− Establish a relationship with nature by continuing green space under the building
− The ground floor of the house, like the street, belongs to the automobile. Therefore
housing is raised on pilotis to allow vehicle movement.

Free Plan-

− A building floor plan should be free from structural conditioning, so partitions can be
organized in any way.
− Freedom in planning is made possible by frame construction
− Because of frame construction, the interior and exterior walls can be placed in
different shapes and directions on each floor.
− Their arrangement is exclusively determined by functional demand and aesthetic
intention.

Free Facade-

− The structure separates from the facade relieving its structural function.
− Freedom in designing the exterior as the architect wishes
− Due to frame structure, any sort of opening can be given in a non-loadbearing
exterior wall depending on the view, climate, privacy, and composition.
− Even total void can be provided from slab to slab.

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Ribbon Window-

− The facade can be cut along its entire length to allow room for illumination and
ventilation.
− Unify all the facades

Roof Garden-

− A building should give back the space it takes up on the ground by replacing it with
a garden in the sky
− Introduce nature in mechanized urban life
− The plantation provides insulation for the flat roof
− Flat roofs also help to achieve pure cubical form which was spoiled by pitched roofs.

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Villa Savoye

Villa Savoye is a modernist villa and gatelodge in Poissy, on the outskirts of Paris, France. It
was designed by the Swiss architects Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret, and built
between 1928 and 1931 using reinforced concrete.

Villa Savoye is considered a masterpiece of modern architecture, using the Parthenon of

Greece’s Acropolis as a precedent to create a “temple” to the modernist movement. Le
Corbusier embraced modernism’s optimism towards standardization, industrialization, and
streamlining, to work towards a perfect standard for housing architecture, just as the
Parthenon did for its historical building type.

Ultimately, the Villa Savoye is the best manifestation of Le Corbusier’s 5 points of

architecture—pilotis, free plan, free façade, roof garden, ribbon window—and the best
encapsulation of the ideas of his 1923 manifesto to modernism, “Towards An Architecture,”
also known as “Towards A New Architecture.”

Elevation:

− Le Corbusier included pilotis, or reinforced concrete pillars, on the ground floor upon
which Villa Savoye sits.
− From the outside, the building is a clean, white box that floats.
− With the home on stilts, the landscaping can extend beneath the building.

Horizontal windows:

− In place of traditional vertical windows, the house’s horizontal windows—sometimes

called “ribbon windows”—allow for consistent natural light and ventilation throughout
Villa Savoye.
− He wanted no front facade, four facades are emphasized equally by ribbon
windows.

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 − Combined with the open plan, the horizontal windows create an uninterrupted view
of the nature surrounding the country home.

Minimalist exterior:

Le Corbusier encouraged the idea of a free façade—an unadorned exterior merely there to
enclose the home and hold doors and windows.

Open floor plan:

− At Villa Savoye, any interior walls are for aesthetics only—occupants can move the
non-supporting walls to fit their needs.
− Le Corbusier designed a floor plan without any load-bearing walls so he could
maintain an open feel inside the structure.

Rooftop garden:

Villa Savoye’s flat top provides ample space for a roof garden, turning the roof terrace into a
functional area offering additional access to nature.

Ground Floor:

− The building is approached through a road that is compared to the processional

path of the Parthenon.
− The curved, sliding glazing at ground level matches the turning radius of automobiles
of 1929. This enabled the owner to drive underneath the larger volume and easily pull
into the integrated garage. It is also a nod to Le Corbusier's interest in car design.
− The recessed floor is dedicated to the maintenance and service programs of the
house.
− A series of ramps (across the main axis of the building), as well as a sculptural spiral
staircase, connect the two floors and are intended to provide a gradual movement
between levels.

First Floor:

− The main living level of the house.

− Typically, the living spaces of a house are relatively private, closed off, and rather
secluded. Yet, Le Corbusier situates the living spaces around a communal, outdoor
terrace that is separated from the living area by a sliding glass wall.
− This notion of privatized areas within a larger communal setting is a common thread
later on in Le Corbusier’s housing projects.

Top Floor:

− The ramp finally culminates in the curved solarium crowning the house, whose
rounded enclosure appears to be an abstract sculpture when viewed from below.
− Small windows are cut into the solarium
− The open-air top level allows a breath-taking scenic view of the adjacent valley

The interiors feature block planes of color and fitted furniture that was also designed by the
architect.

Villa Savoye upholds the spirit of cubism and purism. The Villa Savoye’s integration of indoor
and outdoor spaces allowed the family to spend time outdoors in the most efficient way
possible—the house was, in a sense, a machine designed to maximize leisure in the machine
age. This timeless building becomes a natural consequence of classical and modern
machine age architecture.

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Notre Dame du Haut:
Notre Dame du Haut is a Roman Catholic chapel designed by Le Corbusier. Located on a
hill near Belfort, Ronchamp, France, it is widely considered one of the most important
buildings of the 20th century. Notre Dame du Haut was thought of as a more extreme design
of Le Corbusier’s late style. Le Corbusier took five years to build the Ronchamp, was one of
the projects they worked more deeply, to follow staff works.

Commissioned by the Association de l'Oeuvre Notre Dame du Haut, the chapel is a simple
design with:

− two entrances,
− one main altar, and
− three chapels beneath towers.

Although the building is small, it is powerful and complex.

Location:

− Notre Dame du Haut was built on the site of a 4th century Christian stone chapel that
had been largely destroyed during the Second World War.
− It is located in a small French village, Ronchamp, in the east of France.
− It is located on the top of the hill constantly dominating and overseeing the town.

Concept:

− to build an enclosure in which the material is presented in all its purity.

− A place to meditate and where the sound and the spaces prominence acquired
were free of any additions.
− Sought a dialogue of matter and light.

Form:

− The building's envelope is formed by thick, gently-curving walls and a massive

curvilinear roof to give the building its sculptural character.
− Walls also act as acoustic amplifiers, helping to reflect sound out over the fields.
− Despite the complex layout suggested by the external appearance of the chapel,
the interior is rather simple in the plan.
− Le Corbusier’s intention was to create a meditative and reflective space.
− Three thick white walls curve inwards, creating smaller chapels at the sides of the
main space.
− The slope of the site is followed by the concrete floor towards the main altar.
− The floor is divided into a gridded pattern based on Le Corbusier’s innovative,
modular system of proportions.
− To accommodate large crowds, Le Corbusier also built an outside altar and pulpit, so
the large crowds can sit or stand on a vast field on the top of the hill.
− A famous statue of the Virgin Mary, rescued from the ruins of the chapel destroyed
during WWII, is encased in a special glass case in the wall, and it can be turned to
face inward when the congregation is inside, or to face outward toward the huge
crowds.

Structure & Materials:

− It is not basically a block of concrete but has all the appearance of a solid object.
− this form was filled with heavy masonry work
− The internal and external walls are finished with mortar, sprayed onto the surfaces,
and whitewashed or painted.

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 − The roof is left raw.
− The finishing of the walls has been done by hand and has a rendering of two inches.
− This suggests finishing a category of weightlessness and gives the appearance of a
cardboard wall-rock.
− The altars are built with concrete blocks and precast polished.

Roof:

− The aerodynamic design of the monumental, curved concrete roof mimics the
curvature of a wing
− despite its giving the appearance of massive and heavy form, it’s a lightweight shell
structure.
− The roof is supported by columns embedded in the walls rather than the walls
themselves, making it appear to float above the building.
− This billowing concrete roof was planned to slope toward the back, where a fountain
of abstract forms is placed on the ground. When it rains, the water comes pouring off
the roof and down onto the raised, slanted concrete structures, creating a dramatic
natural fountain.

Light Control:

− Massive wall oriented to the south to control

the intense midday light and allows the softer
mid-afternoon light to get inside the chapel
and bathe the space by the window
openings slant towards their centers at
varying angles, letting light enter the building
in different directions.
− The 10 cm gap between the roof and walls
allows light to seep into the chapel.
− Vertical louvers on top of the secondary
doors
− Use of skylight in the small chapels of the
building that bring the light from above

Color:

− Small pieces of stained glass are set deep

within the walls, which are sometimes ten
feet thick.
− The glass glows like deep-set rubies and
emeralds and amethysts and jewels of all
colors
− Glasses in the south wall show different colors,
shapes and proportions and color the interior
when light goes through them.
− Glasses were painted by himself
− Skylights in the three towers that contained
the secondary chapels have different colors:
white, red and violet

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