Le Corbusier: Villa Savoye - Essay Example

Legendary Swiss Architect Le Courbusier's most recognized work the Villa Savoye situated in the small village of Poissy stands as a testament to the remarkable prescience of a man before this time. The Villa Savoye marked the beginning of the modern age in architecture and echoes of this work can be seen throughout the best modern works. Constructed between 1929 and 1931 the Villa Savoye took the design of the villa in the direction of the International school of design, a school of thought that essentially established the tenets of Modernism without taking on the name. The 21st century has seen Globalization shrink the world and people from all parts of the world now occupy the same space. In todays context the design of the Villa Savoy does not seem as arresting as it no doubt must have seemed to its first viewers. This paper will argue, after presenting the ideas that formed the basis of Villa Savoy, that it is a herald of the modern global multicultural age in its form and function and desired aim. Some have argued that Le Corbusier was somewhat subversive in his design ideas. Indeed there Jormakka has argued that “ By negating society's expectations of architecture, the Villa Savoye can indeed be seen as an example of transgression. (Jormakka 2000) He further likens it to a partner in the surrealist movement which aimed to shock. This may have been the case as “The clients, Le Corbusier said, had no design preconceptions, stylistic or otherwise, but owned a splendid, wood-girt site at Poissy, to the northwest of Paris. Although Le Corbusier thought of the Villa Savoye as a house of universal validity, which could be put down in any surroundings, it did look particularly well on the green lawns of Poissy (Rykwert, and Schezen 166) From these modest beginnings he implemented his ideas, laid out clearly in both his journal, “L'Esprit Nouveau” and his book 'Vers Une Architecuture,' of what he considered were the five most essential factors in Architecture and which he faithfully implemented in the Villa Savoye; these were a raised ground floor supported by columns called Pilotis which in effect obviate the need for supportive walls. This is something that Le Courbusier felt strongly about expounding on it at some length: Stilts, "the key to the problem of circulation posed by great cities" (to quote Professor Maurin of the Faculty of Science in Paris, 1933), have been regarded, since 1937, as an essential element, of the new official edifices of Rio de Janeiro, bringing with them wherever they are used a beginning of the liberation of the ground. One fine day, the city fathers will comprehend, and stilts will be recognized as the indispensable foundation of town-planning. The rule will appear in all its simple clarity: high blocks of dwellings, palaces, schools, houses; etc., will be orientated according to the sun and the best view; the ground level or undulating, will be furrowed by communications entirely independent of the buildings; neither pedestrians nor vehicles will encounter buildings as obstacles to movement; they will pass beneath buildings, through (Le Corbusier 1948) The Pilotis, or Stilts as Coubusier also referred to the them, by eliminating the need for supportive walls allowed an open floor plan. The third factor was a flat roof terrace which gave the semblance of an outside to the building without infringing on the ground floor. The fourth important factor in Le Courbuiser's aesthetic was the provision of horizontal windows that provided balanced lighting and allowed air to circulate freely served to underline an idea: “Le Corbusier conceives of glass work as a strictly visual "organ": the functions of ventilation and temperature regulation must be assured by air conditioning, the procurer of 'exact air.' “ (Choay 1960) In the final category Le Courbusier insisted on an unrestrained facade, that, because it was fully supported by the Pilotis, would demonstrate the aesthetic of a thin exterior of both the window and the walls. The added feature of this building that was not mentioned in his artistic theory but which played an equally important role in establishing its style as so clearly modern was the use of reinforced concrete. There was a great democratic element to this newer building material, that of being cheap and remarkably durable and strong. The Villa Savoye is astonishing when all these elements are considered. It is as if Le Corbusier leapt ahead to another century. This outline of Le Courbusier's theory, however, does not do justice the organic whole of the building. With the walls removed it introduced a single living space with barriers created as needed but not out of necessity. The high ceilings gave it even more of an open space. It was as if Le Courbusier was trying open the barrier between exterior and interior. The continuity with the outside was complicit with the continuity of the space inside as all the living spaces, kitchen, bedroom became continuous as Choay says in a nice turn of phrase, “the ingeniousness of the museum of continuous growth, conceived in 1931 on the plan of a square spiral”(Choay 1960) To better understand this structure it is important to examine in it through modern interpreters of modernism , that is individuals that have the benefit of historical hindsight. The Modernist style that Le Corbusier in large part founded was expressed clearly in the Villa Savoye. In order to better appreciate both this work and its implications it is important to establish the context of ideas and historical changes out which it developed. Alan Colquoun a much respected authority on modern Architecture has a useful perspective on the condition: “The Modern Movement in architecture" Colquhoun claims, "was an attempt to modify the representational systems which had been inherited technology from the pre-industrial past and which no longer seemed meaningful within the context of a rapidly changing society”. (Lynn 1999). This is an interesting point on which to place the Villa Savoye in historical context because it was history that drove the Architectural movement perhaps more than other artistic endeavors. Michael J.Lewis has argued that the inner conflict that characterized other art forms was surprisingly absent in Architecture's adoption of the Modern As he says “This is seldom true in art, where theory and practice normally race wildly after one another. But modern architecture reconciled the opposites of book and building to an astonishing degree and achieved a surpassing programmatic unity”(Lewis 2003). This may have had something to do with the particular medium of the form reflecting most immediately the shifts that take place in society such as the case was when Modernism in Architecture grew out of the great discoveries that were taking place in Science and Technology. In America this Modern movement was as Lewis argues achieved almost without awareness. For example, height limitations were placed on buildings to prevent a blocking of the light on the ground level and this has led, in effect, to the characteristic skyline that was seen in American cities.( Lewis 2003). The phenomenon of America was not restricted to geography. Le Corbusier laid the ground work for the Modernist movement and although it suffered a setback as did the world at large at the time of the Depression, this setback was offset by the migration of talent from Nazi persecuted areas, of talents such as Baulhaus and Walter Gropius. In the post-war era as economies expanded the belief in technology grew and with it the expansion of the Modernist movement. This movement expanded along with avenues of trade and commerce. It is important to understand that the changes of the world were immediately reflected in Architecture because as Lewis describes Architecture was unique among the arts: The ultimate meaning of every building is that conveyed by the society that produces it. Of all the arts, architecture is most fully a social act. The making of a novel, a symphony, or a painting occurs in private, but a building is the product of a complex collaboration between designer, builder and client, involving the expenditure of capital, and insertion of permanent objects in the social space of the community. And whether it represents Communism or Christianity, Roman civitas or the Greek polis, every building in the end is the concrete manifestation of a belief system. For an architecture without a belief system is but a mechanical art, differing only from plumbing in its complexity and in being subject to certain cyclical oscillations in fashion. (Lewis 2003) Hence as Lewis suggests it was hardly surprising that Architecture would reflect the rapid pace of technological change that is taking place. The process of the whole world becoming interconnected in a single market economy has been reflected in the changes in Architecture as well. With this in mind it becomes more and more apparent to informed observers that Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye was a creation that almost predicted the coming changes in the world. The modern age is marked by a more than ever interconnected world. The Internet and service industry phenomenon has closed the gap between communication and commerce to an instantaneous affair. As a result of these changes cultural influences from the world over are now finding there way into every aspect of Architecture. This is not a new phenomenon but one that has been ongoing for some time. Japan has been a strong influence on the Modern movement for some time now as Delanty suggest with the cross pollination of Europe and Japan: After all, much of the impetus of European modernism came from Japan, for instance the famous Katsura Imperial Villa at Kyoto which inspired the Bauhaus and modernist architecture. With its concern for form and harmony of function, this is high modernism, not post modernism. (Delanty 2003) The cool lines and the open structured house that characterizes the traditional Japanese home is seen in the open spaces of the Villa Savoye. There is the similar consideration in to trying to incorporate outdoor space into the internal arena with the terrace in the Villa Savoye and the immaculate gardens that characterize traditional Japanese homes. There is the same immaculate sense of the environment. Le Corbusier with his home built on stilts was trying to economize on the space that would be quickly consumed if ground dwelling was allowed to grow laterally. The effect predicts a dense population where the columns allow the movement of the population on a ground level as if walking through a forest canopy. This is not cleanly shown in its spare surrounding in Poissy but the structure would be a smooth blend with a densely populated city anywhere in the world. The Villa Savoye also pre-dated the desire for high tensile strength of the building material that would be necessary in Japan's earthquake prone geography. The international themes that the Villa Savoye demonstrated were not just restricted to the a certain geography. While it is situated in the temperate climate of France it's strong basic color and clean lines would be equally situated in a tropical climate. Indeed Robin Boyd has show how well the house adjust and predicts a particular style in Australia, “ In a sketch accompanying text in The Walls Around Us, Boyd makes an extraordinary comparison between the Villa Savoye and the traditional Queensland house--a regional variation of the colonial homestead”( Lynn 1999). The universality of the Villa Savoye accounts for this unique aspect of its Chameleon style. And it is this style that Boyd calls for the future as documented by Musgrave and Neale: “Boyd argued that it was to this direct and honest vernacular tradition--a rational solution to the problem of building in the sub-tropics--that architecture needed to return in order to uncover possibilities for translation and transformation of modern themes. (Musgrave, and Neale 2003) .That this rationality as Boyd calls it that does not sacrifice aesthetic appeal is the principal reason for the timelessness of the Villa Savoye. It allows expression of other cultural themes, it adapts to climates and geographies and it accounts for the greater population pressures that mark the new age. It is in a way a prophecy of things to come. But it is more than a message it is also a medium, existing as it does in the way that characterizes Architectural art in the world and timeless. It is then a beautiful marker of the Globalization that its creator did not live to see. The appreciation of the Villa Savoye has only grown since its creation over 70 years ago. The work is remarkable to see but to see it without understanding its context and its implications is to not fully appreciate the scale of its importance. It is a herald and a bearer of the future international world that is more and more becoming a reality. It is a legacy of the most influential Architect of our time; and finally it is an structure of great beauty and great function that continues to spawn new ideas in the post- modern era. References Choay, F. (1960). Le Corbusier. New York: G. Braziller. Retrieved April 19, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=11825948 A. Colquhoun, "Typology and Design Method," in Essays in Architectural Criticism (Cambridge, Mass./London, 1984), 45. Le Corbusier. (2004). In The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. Retrieved April 19, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=101254821 Delanty, G. (2003). Chapter 6 Consumption, Modernity and Japanese Cultural Identity: the Limits of Americanization?. In Global America? The Cultural Consequences of Globalization, Beck, U., Sznaider, N., & Winter, R. (Eds.) (pp. 114-131). Liverpool, England: Liverpool University Press. Retrieved April 19, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=101730935 Goldhagen, S. W. (2002, June 17). Kool Houses, Kold Cities: As an Architect, Rem Koolhaas Is Inspired. as an Urban Planner, He's Irresponsible. The American Prospect, 13, 29+. Retrieved April 19, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000772829 Jormakka, K. (2004). Chapter 20 The Most Architectural Thing. In Surrealism and Architecture, Mical, T. (Ed.) (pp. 290-317). New York: Routledge. Retrieved April 19, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108850270 Le Corbusier. (1948). Concerning Town Planning (Entwistle, C., Trans.). New Haven: Yale Univ. Press. Retrieved April 19, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=54831191 Lewis, M. J. (2003, December). "All Sail, No Anchor": Architecture after Modernism. New Criterion, 22, 4+. Retrieved April 19, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002056597 Folds, Bodies & Blobs: Collected Essays.  Greg Lynn.  “New Variations on the Rowe Complex”, pages 199-221. Musgrave, E., & Neale, D. (2004). Architectural Image and Idiom: Making Local. Mosaic (Winnipeg), 37(4), 255+. Retrieved April 19, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5008600512 Rykwert, J., & Schezen, R. (2000). From Ancient to Modern From Ancient to Modern. New York: Abrams Books. 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