VILLA SAVOYE

Of all of the iconic buildings that I have been bombarded with over the decades, Villa Savoye always seems to be near the top.  Every time that I see an image of this building, I am always basically stopped in my tracks.  This building is 83 years old.  Yet it continues to strike me as something fresh.

That seems to be, of course, the litmus test for any great work of art.  Pieces in this category will continue to speak to us in ways that are inspired by our culture.  They are not artifacts of the culture that they were created in.

This piece is 83 years old, and I have been aware of it for 25 of those years.  I was aware of the machine inspiration for the design.  I have always enjoyed showing students photographs from Corbusier’s books such as Vers une Architecture which shows the images of ships that he was inspired by.  (Note that Corbusier was looking at pictures for inspiration for his iconic buildings.  More on that later.)

Yet I really did not know how it worked.  What was the function of the ground floor?  How did the ramps connect the levels?  Where was the door?  Where was the main living space?  How machine like was this machine for living?

Transparent Drawing to the rescue.  I did these two images, using solely online images.  My understanding of the building after making these two drawings is profound.  It turns out that the front door is in the apex of the curved ground floor form.  The interior ramps take you from the ground floor to the roof in a wonderful evolving experience of light.  The other vertical circulation element is the curved stair, a Corb signature staple.  It also takes you to the roof.  I was also amazed to understand the integration of the main living space with the second floor exterior courtyard.  The plan really is symmetrically derived, which in my book makes it a classical piece.  Via enormous sliding glass doors, this interior space is very closely knit with the courtyard.  While I am sure that there are features that I still do not understand, I can say with confidence that I now reasonably understand how this machine for living really works.  And my captivation with this building has only increased as a result.