AIR STUDIO - JOURNAL UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE 2012 392189 HAOTIAN LI
Week 1: EOI-Architecture Discourse Le Corbusier A new form of architecture were created in the 1920s which seemed to totally overthrow previous design strategy and set a new one. This new style was broadly known as ‘international style’, this shared language of expression was more than a mere style or a revolution in building technique, though its characteristic effects of interlocking spaces, hovering volumes and interpenetrating planes admittedly relied on the machine-age materials of concrete, steel, and glass.
Architecture is the masterly, correct and magnificent play of volumes brought together in light. -Le Corbusier,
Mainson Le Roche
Le Corbusier’s design expresses a vision of ideal city and a feeling of tradition, he was one of the architects in that age interested in investing architecture with a universal tone. In Versune architecture Le Corbusier had spoken of the new dwelling as a ‘machine for living in’, and by this he meant a house whose functions had been examined from the ground floor up and stripped to the essentials. Maison Le Roche was built in 1925 just as Le Corbusier’s architecture ideas were beginning to crysrallize, Paris provided Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret to extend the concept of ‘total art’. The space of Maison le Roche haven been linked in sequence to allow the gradual exploration of interior. The exterior imparts clean simple lines in geometric forms which adds to a plain simplicity which gives the building a grandeur rooted in classical architecture.
Space Interlocking The main volumes of the house are separated into two parts; first, the private area which contains dwelling and second, a curved element lifted free of the ground which is a exhibition space.Windows are set flush with the façade plane so that the effect is of a thin skin wrapeped tautly around the sequence of interior spaces.
This three-story high building filled with overhanging balconies and a kind of bridge that runs just inside the glass and provides a variety of view point. The elements slide by into new relationships, and interior and exterior are temporarily fused; Cleverly positioned expanses of glass show views into the building which elucidate the elasticity of the interior plan. The interior is dynamic - it moves when you move. Paths cross, balconies overlook each other; stairs accentuate motion which all emphasize the purposeful motion of humans. Light is just as important a part of the artistic synthesis as structure, the idea of movement is reinforced by the creation of dynamic and fluid spaces, while walking along the ramp and observing the works of art on the wall, you are aware that the wall’s that form a backdrop to the art are a work of art in themselves.
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Reference: Curtis, William j. r. Mordern Architecture since 1900, Phaidon Press Limited, London http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/laroche/index.htm. Access 07/03.2012 http://fotofacade.blogspot.com.au/2008/10/villa-la-roche-by-le-corbusier-and.html. Access: 07/03/2012 Illustration: 1. http://www.vintageandchicblog.com/2011/07/un-genio-atemporal-le-corbusier-i.html. Access: 08/03/2012 2. http://www.e-architect.co.uk/architects/le_corbusier.htm. Access: 07/03/2012 3. 4. http://blog.soufun.com/21849026/6502883/articledetail.htm. Access: 07/03/2012 5. http://fotofacade.blogspot.com.au/2008/10/villa-la-roche-by-le-corbusier-and.html. Access: 07/03/2012 6. http://fotofacade.com/?p=1492. Access: 08/03/2012 7.http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/laroche/index.htm. Access: 07/03/2012