Villa Savoye
Villa Savoye, dubbed as Le Corbusier’s masterpiece was constructed in 1929 in Poissy, France. This structure sits on an open site and gives the feeling that the building is floating. This open site has been said to be the reason for its stature. The site gave Corbusier a chance to apply his 5 points of architecture without the constraints of an urban site. The main section of this residence is a box that sits atop slender pilotis or stilts that are offset from the edge of the structure above. The building which was designed out of concrete and plaster unit masonry shows the purist Modern design of Corbusier. This modern structure designed to be “machine a habiter”, a machine for living, uses a flat roof and strip “ribbon” windows to give this freestanding building a distinct modern look. In addition, the design is simplified with the pure white color and lack of ornamentation as well as the curvilinear forms on both the roof and lower level to further support the machine imagery.
The modern design continues into the interior of Villa Savoye. Corbusier uses non-traditional conveying systems, an open plan, an integral ground floor garage, built-in furniture and a roof garden to give this machine a habitable and efficient feel. The interior flows well from one space to another with the use of ramps and spiral staircases, while creating a modular feel and keeping movement from one space to overlapping spaces available. The use of the “ribbon” windows provides this interior with ample sunlight and giving the framed look to the exterior.
The theory behind this structure is based on a Modernist view and directly affected by World War II. The use of industrial materials associates this residence with the Modern Movement. These facts teamed with Corbusier’s preference to a square plan and pure, natural form come together to express his theory in Villa Savoye.
Posted in Historical and tagged architecture, Discussion, history, review, villa savoye by Studio Render with 3 comments.
SIPs?
As architects we have great control over what products and processes are used in the construction of our environment. It is our responsibility to keep up to date with the latest innovations of the building industry and be receptive to change. It shouldn’t take a disaster like the Chicago fires to realize that a process may not be the best way of doing things. One of these “newer” innovations are structurally insulated panels or “SIPs” which is a more environmentally sound process than that of the stick & batt construction.
What is a SIP? According to the Structural Insulated Panel Association, “SIPs are high-performance building panels for floors, walls and roofs in residential and commercial buildings. Each panel is typically made using expanded polystyrene (EPS), or polyisocyanurate rigid foam insulation sandwiched between two structural skins of oriented strand board (OSB), but other surfaces are also available to meet your needs. The result is a building system that is very strong, predictable, energy efficient, and cost effective.” Some advantages of the products used in this process are that EPS will not shrink, decompose, or disintegrate; in addition the R-value will not decrease with age. The result is a solid insulator that is dependable and sustainable over the life of the structure. The process creates a very air tight construction that will not rot, is highly resistant to mildew and allows much less air infiltration than stick & batt structures. The foam core of the system allows for less air leaks, less noise and results in lower energy bills. This is due in part to the fact that unlike fiberglass insulation, the rigid core does not allow air to easily flow through it.
Posted in Sustainable and tagged building material, Discussion, economic, efficiency, environment, environmentally, green, insulation, SIPs, Sustainable, technology, wall system by Studio Render with 12 comments.
Frank Llyod Wright’s Robie House
American architecture and Frank Lloyd Wright[1] is a synonymous pair. It may even be said that Frank Lloyd Wright was the founder of American architecture; the true innovator and visionary of the principals of the American way of life and its landscape. In the time of modern architecture and the Bauhaus[2] movement, Frank Lloyd Wright was not spoken of in virtuous terms. Wright’s attempts to create architecture that was unique to the American frontier did not comply with the movement that brought influence to America from Germany, Holland and France. This influence created an architecture pieced together from other nations rather than one true to its environment. What could be Wright’s Masterpiece of residential design came in the early 1900’s when he was commissioned to design a residence for Frederick C. Robie in Chicago, IL. This Prairie style residence integrated the American Prairie, refuted the white box of the International style and formed a language that was true to American soil without foreign influences.
[1] Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), American architect, built some 140 structures in residential, commercial and civic design. He became a major influence of 20th century architecture in America.
[2] Bauhaus, School first opened in Weimar, Germany by architect Walter Gropius. Young architects would live, study and learn the theory of “starting from zero”, the key overriding principal of the modern movement in architecture. A style that was marked for its glass corners, flat roofs, honest materials and expressed structure.
Posted in Frank Lloyd Wright and tagged america, american, architect, architecture, bauhaus, Discussion, FLW, Frank Lloyd Wright, Robie, Robie House, Wright by Studio Render with 26 comments.
