World famous 20th century modernist architect Le Corbusier and cousin Pierre Jeanerret, designed the Villa Savoye completed in 1931 in Poissy, France. It has since been described as one of the most impacting pieces of architecture to the modernist world, turning the public’s heads from from the frivolousness of the previous century’s styles such as art nouveau and beaux-arts, and turning into a much simpler and streamlined style of architecture. It is seen as one of le Corbusier’s greatest masterpieces, as he uses it to physically model his 5 points of new Architecture, his manifesto for the qualities he regarded essential to the best design for any building which he had previously declared in his pioneering essay; Toward an Architecture. Due to the client, the Savoye family’s brief having few restrictions, this gave the architect free rein over many of the decisions that came to create the final villa, so he used this opportunity to embody his idealisms.

The building itself is a vivid white, floating upon pilotis above a lush green rural landscape. The columns act to lift the structure from the ground, to be non-obtrusive to the landscape, encourage effective air circulation and become a sheltered garage for the glorified automobiles of the time. The horizontal ribbon windows along all faces of the villa allow for far distance views across the rolling hills and forest nearby, as well as allowing an equal amount of light into the interior, maximising light exposure through all times of the day. It is constructed with 3 levels, one as an entrance, a garage and servants quarters, the next as the main living level with all resident’s bedrooms, and the third as an extension for a roof top garden and solarium, to give back the space to nature that was taken from the ground. Using the reinforced concrete columns through the entire square grid of the site, allows the floors to be supported, withdrawing any need for load bearing walls and so the interior plans could be designed without structural limitations. The same was for the façade, each exterior wall had its construction hidden within, which gave scope for a look that was polished and stylized from the outside. Le Corbusier names feature this the ‘free-façade’.

The building makes impact with every consideration. The design is manufactured to give inhabitants a greater and more sophisticated lifestyle that visitors today can experience themselves. Le Corbusier made his decisions for this effect, and in turn he is honoured as his outcomes are seen as fascinating to behold. His surroundings and upbringing in the early 20th century became a source­­ of much of his inspirations. France’s art took radical change from the early 20th century and this reflected in architecture also. Cubism started in France where Corbusier was working at the time. The idea behind this art movement was to show the essence of an object by multiplying points of view, showing many angles at once as though time was passing as you look around the object. Simplicity is often an overriding characteristic within cubist architecture, with sharp lines and edges making sure that the building is viewed in perspective with ease. Corbusier demonstrated this movement around the villa, as if it were a Cubist painting, with every step around the building showing another spectacle. The building is designed to lead the visitor through the space in a glamourous manner, like an architectural promenade, led by the elegant ramp that is the first port of call from the entrance and elevates the inhabitant through the levels right up to the solarium roof top. He believed that stairs separated levels from each other, while a ramp connected them and gave a sense of ambiguity to the levels in the building. This incline mimics the luxury of a cruise liner, led to the top sun deck on board to take in the views of the far-out sea, this was the height of sophisticated living. Industrial vehicles were at the time the height of luxury and seen as machines of glamour as not everyone could afford an automobile or a holiday.

Le Corbusier had a strong fascination with their alluring qualities; smoothed, finished and gracefully crafted, yet powerful and complicated machines. Elements of the machine age are clearly an inspiration in many of his designs, and most recognisably within city block Unite d ’habitation in Marseille 1952, which is a towering brutalist community block topped with roof deck and pool which offers views across the city. Le Corbusier insists this model is as close to his famous quote; buildings should be ‘a machine for living in’, a concept based on the architect's admiration for well-built automobiles and trans-Atlantic steamships, he marvelled at the beauty of their efficiency and used this as inspiration within his architecture.

In the Villa Savoye itself there are many aspects that can be related to the elegance within steamship design. With tubular railings along the ramp promenade and spiral stair are like the guardrail of a ship, these lines slice the visual space and the way light penetrates the interior. These are one of the few elements in the building finished in a shiny black which contrast strongly yet beautifully with the crisp white interior. The roof top, or sun deck features a steam chimney, and an exhaust pipe coming from the basement boiler, similar to the industrial pipes shooting high out from a steamship. The top floor’s more curved wall sunshades mimic the towering funnels that are iconic vessel like forms and contrast from the very linear aspects of the rest of the building. Other than designing similar qualities to industrial vehicles le Corbusier also designed considering the interaction with them. The villa’s ground floor was designed mainly with the consideration of the movement of the automobile, parking easily below. The curved wall allows for the car to park in one sweeping motion, with space for 3 cars.

His considerations and executions may sound and resemble an icon of luxury, an ideal living experience within a crisp white villa, floating like the elegance of a cruise ship in the surrounding countryside of Paris. However, in all his visual mastery, in elevating the experience of buildings and lifestyle, it is to be questioned if this feeling of luxury inflicted upon the inhabitant will fade. Are his works only a spectacle to engage with and explore only once, or do they truly serve as a functional machine for daily living? Although praised for its complete uniqueness of architecture at the time, using materials and engineering in a way that the world had scarcely seen before, the building began to propose a lot of problems for the inhabitants, that Le Corbusier himself had little to respond with.

In a series of letters between the client; The Savoye famille, and Le Corbusier, there is a persistent theme that there were many problems with the infrastructure, including leaking and damages which proved the quality of life to be far from luxurious. The flat roof design did not comply with the climate, leading to water leaks from the ceiling. Madame Savoye remarks on many occasions in their correspondence, in 1930, even before the completion of the building;

“it is still raining in our garage” she also noted that rainfall on the bathroom skylight “makes a terrible noise […] which prevents us from sleeping in bad weather”. These issues were noted by the contractor and brought to Le Corbusier’s attention, the contractor did not take any responsibility for the ill considerations of the climate against the building, as it was within le Corbusier’s 5 points of Architecture that many of these issues originated. Mme Savoye’s complaints about dampness, humidity, condensation and leaking in her home persisted in subsequent years. These complaints also extended to the discussion of the heating system as insufficient and cause of flooding.

It then became publicised, 1935 article in Time states about his architecture: Though the great expanses of glass that he favors may occasionally turn his rooms into hothouses, his flat roofs may leak and his plans may be wasteful of space, it was Architect Le Corbusier who in 1923 put the entire philosophy of modern architecture into a single sentence: “A house is a machine to live in.”

In frustration, a letter sent two years later stated: “After innumerable demands you have finally accepted that this house which you built in 1929 in uninhabitable…. Please render it inhabitable immediately. I sincerely hope that I will not have to take recourse to legal action” (Sbriglio 147). Evidencing the struggle and the unpleasant leisure over many years they threatened a lawsuit when Le Corbusier evaded their repeated requests to fix the problem. The villa was eventually abandoned by the family in the beginning of WW2.

No matter the intention or theory behind Le Corbusier’s modern rules for architecture, they proved insufficient in generating a luxurious effect for long term habitation. It was as though he only designed this building to model his idealisms, and once built he had no sympathy for the physical and material considerations that would last within the real world. As he created a great modernist impact on the world of architecture, it is simply shocking that he payed little attention to the real impact his building had on its occupants, especially due to the amount he claims to elevate the well-being and lifestyle of his clients. His building the Villa Savoye is clearly left in his mind as a 1:1 model, to visit, to adore and to experience, much like a museum. In reality, is left to crack and fade, a vessel left sinking with no captain to guide it.