Being so close to glamorous Paris, Poissy has always clung to its identity as a small village. And it’s from one of Poissy’s small road that you can see an exceptional gem of 1930s architecture, set between the trees: the Ville Savoye. The villa is the maximum expression of Le Corbusier’s concept of the perfect “machine-à-habiter”.
It is beautiful and as mysterious as its name. An internal spiral staircase connects three levels and gives natural ventilation. The interior and exterior live in harmony, become one, the interiors are homogeneous, balanced in all their parts, built for man and man sized. The garden is a continuation of the house while the interior decoration is studied in every detail; every corner is used rationally, often by means of multifunctional furniture.
THE EXTERIORS
Picture © of AXT Magazine
CONNECTION ELEMENTS: ENTRANCE, STAIRCASE, RAMP
The main aim of Le Corbusier was to integrate architecture, interiors and the environment into a seamless experience, a unified and fluid whole. This is why words like linearity, simplicity and purity are the key words to describe Villa Savoye. The interiors are intended to give serenity, optimism, light: concepts that spring from a desire for order and harmony.
Ground Floor – Entrance – Main Staircase – Picture © of AXT Magazine
The double-flight ramp is presented as an alternative for the spiral staircase – Picture © of AXT Magazine
FIRST FLOOR: THE INTERIORS
Finding the way to give a space some poetical rhythm, reaching a pure, distilled formal result means that whoever inhabits that space will enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle. But it must be said that this doesn’t mean automatically minimalism. Clean neat, organised interiors can also be enriched with details, they don’t necessarily have to be stripped down. And Ville Savoye is a perfect example of this philosophy.