A visit to the Villa Savoye a modernist manifesto built by Le Corbusier, Poissy

The Villa Savoye is considered by many to be the seminal work of the Swiss architect Le Corbusier. Situated at Poissy, outside of Paris, it is an iconic architectural example of early modernism, the so-called International Style. The house addressed “The Five Points”, Le Corbusier’s basic tenets of a new aesthetic of architecture:

1/ Support of ground-level pilotis, elevating the building from the earth and allowed an extended continuity of the garden beneath.

2/ Functional roof, serving as a garden and terrace, reclaiming for nature the land occupied by the building.

3/ Free floor plan, relieved of load-bearing walls, allowing walls to be placed freely and only where aesthetically needed.

4/ Long horizontal windows, providing illumination and ventilation.

5/ Freely-designed facades, serving only as a skin of the wall and windows and unconstrained by load-bearing considerations.

Photo Anna-Sophie Berger