ARCH1201: "Artifice," The Drawings

The Final Presentation

Despite the crisp white finish and resolved modernist design, there are ideas and concepts in the Villa Savoye that Le Corbusier has had to address and work through. It is this that my parti and poches attempt to express. They are sketchy yellow traces, pinned up with masking tape and highlighted expressively with pantone. I am interested by the ideas embedded in the building; the architect behind the design.

Inside and Out: Feathering the Boundary

The varied internal spatial organisation of the Villa is unified by ribbon windows on all four facades. The aesthetic choice to use the windows is a simple but strong one. However, from most rooms in the first floor, there is a visual connection with the exterior. The sight of nature (bearing in mind that when built, the Villa was surrounded by trees and not paddock as today) and the feeling of being above it is a powerful generator of emotion in the villa. The windows, like the walled terraces and rooftop gardens ‘feather’ the boundary between inside and out.

Nude on top of the World

“One is drawn up to the culminating point, the curved walls, feminine shapes that are a memory of the former scheme when they enclosed Madame’s bedroom. She had insisted that the living room “should not be strictly rectangular but should have some comfortable corners.” However, Le Corbusier disregarded her wishes when it came to the main room and transferred them to the culmination of the route (of the ramp), the place where she might be nude on top of the world, sunbathing, and spiritually in touch with the sun.”

(Charles Jencks, 1974, Le Corbusier and the Tragic View of Architecture, 178.)

Equating the Machines of Living and Driving

That the car has been incorporated into the body of the building is significant. That there is space enough for three cars and a chauffer’s living quarters is Le Corbusier suggesting a new significance for the car in modern life. His correct prediction and prototype for a manner of living focussed around movement and efficiency is profound.

Process Work

ARCH1201: "Artifice," The Model

Villa Savoye, Poissy, Le Corbusier, 1928-29.

Balsawood

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Cameron Foster, Hu Wen Jun and Barnaby Hartford Davis

Model

These photographs were taken with a single lamp in a fixed position, a black calico backing sheet and a digital SLR. The ‘sun’ angle is around 45 degrees from the ‘ground’ or base of the model and light emanates from the southern ‘sky.’ In all, it is roughly similar to the light conditions at around noon on a Winter’s day in Poissy.

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The Section Cut

Charles, Cam and I chose to build the model with a diagonal section cut to reflect the parti of the first floor. In one half of the model are all the private spaces: Madame’s bedroom cluster including her boudoir and ensuite, the Son’s bedroom and ensuite, and the guest bedroom and ensuite. In the other half are the public spaces, including the terrace, saloon, pantry and part of the kitchen. The majority of the kitchen lays within the ‘private’ model half, though only to afford a clean section cut.

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This section cut illuminates the complexity of the building’s plan. The building appears literally ‘full’ of walls, as we discovered in building the model, yet it is spatially resolved and calm.

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The section cut also cleanly divides the building into public and private spaces in the ground floor. The foyer and garage are in one half, and servant’s quarters in the other.

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