Villa Savoye is the most famous work of the French modernist architect Le Corbusier. It represents the flowering of architectural purism, subject to the relationships of its geometric angles and shapes. The villa is part of the cycle of 12 purist villas realized by Le Corbusier between 1922 and 1931. This villa is the culmination of all the architect’s discoveries.
In architecture, the absence of decorations is the main feature. The geometry of the spaces creates the interiors. It is the play of light and shadow, the contrast of transparent glass and white concrete. This “box in the air” embodies the five starting points of modern architecture. Pillars-posts, hanging facades, ribbon windows, free plan, and roof-terrace.
Touring this villa is like an architectural performance. The visitor becomes the spectator, and the space is the actor. Various perspectives and small architectural forms are revealed to the visitor. The play with light and space distortions makes the spectator even more interested in this play and play out different versions of the script.
A semicircular light vestibule meets a guest with panoramic stained-glass windows, behind which you can see nature buried in verdure. Here it is worth looking at the glass of the front door, which is perforated in a small cage, and its distinguishing effect in contrast to the clean glass. The spiral-shaped, futuristic staircase, intended for servants, catches all the attention. Usually, such stairs were hidden from view, but Le Corbusier put them in the center of the composition and called it an “iron-concrete sculpture.”
The entire first floor is reserved for servants and car parking. The family’s whole life takes place on the second floor, where the living and sleeping rooms are located. A ramp accesses the second floor for owners and guests. It allows you to float through the villa and watch the spaces flowing outside the window. The guest is then welcomed into the spacious living room. It is separated from the indoor open garden by two large glass panels. In the summer, they move apart, merging the boundary between the interior and the exterior.
The link between the outside and the inside is Le Corbusier’s main idea in this object. He deliberately creates architecture to remove the outside and the inside boundary. This effect is created by the continuous ribbon glazing around the perimeter of the building and the illumination of the rooms. The center of communion with nature becomes the roof terrace, which becomes an open-air gallery. Here the main exhibit becomes the landscape, and the openings in the walls become frames.
COLOR
Color plays an essential role in the interior of the villa. Through the psychology of light and shade, Corbusier plays with the mood and purpose of the place. So, for example, the blue wall in the dining room. Blue is neutral and calm, helping to concentrate on eating. The living room in a dusty pink shade has a soothing and reassuring effect. Associating it with the color of the mother creates the comfort of a family home and the right atmosphere for unhurried family conversations.
DETAILS
We want to pay special attention to the interior details. Due to the shape, fluted metal plafonds in the lamps of the front room create a wavy pattern on the walls. All the details, down to the switches and proportions create harmony. The house is like a kind of labyrinth made from different faces and spaces, which, depending on the chosen trajectory, opens up through accents, works with form, and always plays with the observer’s imagination.
