Swiss Pavilion / Le Corbusier

ARCHITECT:
LE CORBUSIER : a Swiss-French architect, and one of the pioneers of
what is now regarded as modern architecture.
YEAR:
1930-1932
LOCATION:
PARIS, FRANCE

ABOUT -In 1930, Le Corbusier was tasked with designing a dormitory(dorms) that would
house Swiss students at the Cité Internationale Universitaire in Paris. The architect and Pierre
Jeanneret, his partner at the time, worked on a very limited budget, which led the building to
become a summation of Le Corbusier's modern principles, forcing him to focus on dwelling
before all else.
-The International University Campus in Paris (CIUP) is an architectural complex known for
the character and variety of its buildings . Set in 34 hectares of landscaped park, the 37
residences and communal buildings form a real showcase of twentieth century architecture.

-The foundation stone was laid in 1931. The building was stood out as the only construction
on the CIUP with an explicitly modern identity, far removed from any folk style or academic
tradition . The architects made the Swiss Pavilion the testing ground for their vision of
collective housing and their theories of contemporary construction: strength of the lower
structure in reinforced concrete, industrial prefabrication of the floors, carefully researched
sound insulation and a highly functional room layout planned in collaboration with interior
designer Charlotte Perriand.

STRUCTURE : System of beams and columns of reinforced concrete. by their

collaboration with the industrialist Wanner , the architects first envisaged a steel structure
before deciding on a more complex structural system. Above the massive pillars in
reinforced concrete, the floors were built with a lightweight steel frame, clad in brick,
artificial stone and abundant glazing.

Fig 2 : A study of the column shapes at the Swiss

Pavilion.Using the existing geometry, new possible geome
were generated.
Fig 1 : My analysis of How Le Corbusier
might have developed the curves used to
create them.  started by analyzing how the
shapes are related to each other .
Alaa Mohamed Ali 1806325
The Design
Because of the limit costs, the architectural brief was kept to a strict minimum: 42 rooms for
students, a lounge area, an entrance hall, an office and an apartment for the director. The
architect’s proposals managed to expand this programme a little, particularly by adding
ample circulation space. The rooms are all basically identical, and for many years were the
only ones at the CIUP equipped with a shower. Given the difficult ground conditions (the
site was formerly a quarry), the architects opted to limit the number of piles (19m deep) for
the foundation and to feature this technical aspect by elevating the main building above
ground level, on what they called an “artificial ground” supported by the exposed pile
foundation.

Dorm rooms
Patio
Common toilets
Lobby Stairs
Stairs Kitchen

Ground plan 1st , 2nd & 3rd plan

South elevation

Le Corbusier and the Sun

In spite of the limited dimensions (2.8 x 6m), the strength of the design lies in the room layout, furniture and
natural light from the south-facing horizontal windows. A repetitive linear plan and oriented the long axis
east-west, so that each room faced south.  A single-loaded interior corridor occupied the north side, and the
narrow east and west walls were opaque.  This would later be understood as excellent practice for passive
solar heating (but he didn’t explicitly design for solar heat gain). Still, the building remains a valid case study
for organizing rooms with respect to the sun, and avoiding the problem of the "thermal ghetto".  It also
included an early example of a 'responsive envelope': the south-facing glass curtain wall included motorized
exterior roller-shades to provide control against overheating. 
The five points of architecture
The spatial combinations and architectural expression were very new; they were inspired by the latest
concepts and to some extent by the “five points of a new architecture” defined by Le Corbusier and Jeanneret
in 1927. ; As they developed a manifesto for contemporary architecture based on five principles : ( pillars,
the roof garden, free design of the ground plan, the horizontal window, free design of the façade ) – of which
the Swiss Pavilion provides a brilliant illustration :

• The pillars ( Pilotis)

The house is in the air, away from the damp, dark
ground; the garden moves under the house. The building
is elevated on pilotis that are close to its center,
accentuating the 'floating' effect .

• The roof garden

With the installation of central heating, the roof should be
inward-sloping rather than humped. It should allow water
to run towards the middle of the building, ensuring
constant moisture on the roof that will enable an opulent
roof garden to be created. At the Fondation suisse, the
roof garden is hidden and inhabited. The roof garden
gives back to the city and serves the residents of the
building,

• The horizontal window

Reinforced concrete revolutionised the history of the
window. With no need for supporting walls, windows
can run from one side of the façade to the other.

• Free design of the façade

The posts are set back from the façade, under the
house, and the floor is cantilevered. The façades are
no more than a light sheath of insulating walls or
windows.

• Free design of the ground plan

The ground plan is no longer defined by load-bearing
walls. The reinforced concrete in the house allows for
a free design. The interior layout of the floors is
unrestricted
Materials Concrete, stone and glass.

A House of Modern Culture

Recognised as “one of Le Corbusier’s freest and most
imaginative creations” (Sigfried Giedion), the building
combines three approaches: one embraces the modern
apartment-block style, independent of any relation to the
shape of the plot; the second confronts this block with
different, specialized volumes, combines flat and concave
walls, and contrasts industrial and natural materials. The third
is in the original interpretation of two of the “five points of
modern architecture”: the accessible yet hidden roof garden
and the pillars in exposed concrete. As such, the building can
be seen as the starting point for Le Corbusier’s further
development as an artist and for the “new brutalism” of the
1950s.

Renovations Le Corbusier returned several times for additional work on the Swiss Pavilion.

•1948: a mural was painted to replace the photographic mural of 1933, which had been destroyed during the
war.
•1953: the southern wall was rebuilt, significantly transforming the floor to ceiling room windows to reduce
excessive sunlight;
•1957: a series of enamelled benches and new polychromy were added to the rooms.
The Swiss Pavilion was added to the supplementary historical monuments list in September 1965, then
confirmed and classified as a historical monument in December 1986. The latest structural work was done in
1991-93, led by Hervé Baptiste, chief architect of historical monuments, and Jacques Chopinet, architect of
the Fondation suisse. It involved repairing and waterproofing the roof terrace, and replacing all the artificial
stone cladding. The cost of 4.5 million francs was evenly shared between the Swiss government and the
French ministry of culture. More recently, electrical installations were updated, kitchenettes installed on each
floor and the rooms refitted with new plumbing and appliances. New furniture was approved by Charlotte
Perriand. One room is maintained as a prototype of the original and is open to visitors. In July 2000, Le
Corbusier’s painted mural was restored by Madeleine Hanaire with funding from the Council of the Swiss
Pavilion and the Regional Office of Historic Monuments. The Nevada glass tile wall was fully renovated in
2007. Finally, in 2016, the waterproofing of the roof terrace was re-established, and in 2018, under the
direction of Alexandre Kabok, architect of the Fondation suisse, private bathrooms were integrated into the
student rooms and the shared kitchens enlarged.