Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, and Mies Van der Rohe are perhaps the most influential architects on modern architecture. All were pioneers of ideas that were way ahead of their time. So much so that their ideas are still studied and used in architecture today. With a closer look at how they implemented their architectural ideas into some of their residential works, we can better understand how their work is still influencing modern architecture today.
Le Corbusier developed his theory of five points of architecture. These five points are
- pilotis
- toit-jardin (roof garden)
- plan libre (free plan)
- fenetre de longerue (long window of the façade)
- façade libre (free façade)
Taking a look at the Maison La Roche house designed by Le Corbusier we can see how he uses his five points of architecture into a residential building.
In the above picture the piloti is clearly visible. It is the circular column and it supports the studio above. Besides supporting the room above it, the piloti is used to elevate the building creating an open space beneath which was meant to be an area to park cars. Le Corbusier saw the automobile as an object to design a building around and wanted all cities to eventually build as elevated buildings leaving open areas beneath for cars to pass under.
The next point was a roof garden. The purpose was of this was to replace to area of garden that was taken up by the house being placed there. This idea is still a forward thinking idea in both green and modern architecture and buildings and houses are being retro-fitted to accommodate a roof garden. Not only does it support the environment but roof gardens add extra living space and green area especially in an urban setting.
The third point of his architecture was a free plan. Le Corbusier used a framing that was inset of the façade allowing a multitude of floor plans to be developed within the framing and façade of the house because the plan didn’t depend on structural walls. In the above picture of the interior of the Maison La Roche you can see you how the framing structure allowed a three story space with a procession of interjecting spaces up to the top floor.
The final two points of his architecture were long spanning windows and a free façade. The two points are closely related. Like the free floor plan, these two points are a possible because of the framing system that is pulled in from the façade of the house. With the framing pulled in, the façade is not structural allowing basically a free canvas of space to place windows. This is how Le Corbusier is capable of placing strips of windows that span from one end a house to the other. His reason for putting the strips of windows was to give the illusion of weightlessness. The free façade in the Maison La Roche is implemented in the studio where Le Corbusier has created a curved wall that is clearly not structural. It is offset from the structure of the house and again as stated before is elevated by the piloti.
The next architect who has had a continued influence on modern architecture is Alvar Aalto. Aalto began as a neo-classicist but evolved into what can be called a Romantic Modernist. His transition consisted of sensitivity to the human experience moving through space by the use of materials and complex metaphors. Aalto wrote that “Architecture cannot disengage itself from natural and human factors; on the contrary it must never do so…Its function rather is to bring nature ever closer to us.”
These ideas are represented in a house he completed for Maire and Harry Gullichsen, a wealthy couple. The house was called the Villa Mairea.
The house was L-shaped and loosely reflected the vernacular of Finnish farms with a courtyard protecting the inhabitants from winter winds. Inside of the ‘courtyard’ of the L is the pool and lawn flowing into the edge of the forest. On the outside of the L is the more public side of the house and is more formal. The interiors of the house are connected in flowing sequences with rooms differentiated by small level changes or screens. The materials of the interior are a detailed combination of wood, stone and brick thoughtfully integrated with artificial materials. Wood was the prominent material used in this house and was used in such a way that creates the appearance of the forest continuing into the house and becoming almost a structural aspect of the villa. Villa Mairea thus becomes an abstraction of the forest that surrounds it.
The final architect in this discussion of modern architectural influence is Mies Van der Rohe. Van der Rohe advanced the ideas of modern architecture in a way that buildings became more than just functional but rather a piece of art. “In its simplest form architecture is rooted in entirely functional considerations, but it can reach up through all degrees of value to the highest sphere of spiritual existence into the realm of pure art.” This idea is evident in perhaps his most famous work, the Farnsworth house. The Farnsworth house is located in Plano, Illinois and is set in a pastoral landscape. The idea of a house is simplified to the complete fullest in this project. There is no decoration to the house so that rather than having a piece of art in the house, the house becomes a piece of art to the landscape and the landscape become art when you are inside the house. The house is simplified so that visually there is only a terrace, floor, and roof. This pure form is intentionally unnatural so that it sticks out against the surrounding landscape. This is further continued by the use of white paint on the structure of the house. With the house elevated, the idea of the of the man made object against the natural landscape is further emphasized and the elevated position reinforces the idea that the house is a piece of art.
Looking back at the many works by these three great architects it is easy to see how much they have influenced the architecture that came after them. So many buildings are reminiscent of their work that their ideas have become almost commonplace in today’s world. That is not meant to sound as if I’m saying their ideas or normal but is rather more of allude to the saying ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.’ With their ideas and theory’s implemented in countless buildings, it can be easy to overlook the greatness of their ideas because we are surrounded by them constantly however that should only further indicate how wide spanning their influence on modern architecture still is.
Fantastic photo of Le Corbu house interior! This is wonderful work Spencer! The post is strong, well written, nice references and comparisons. You have selected great images. You end on a very deep reflection, which raises further introspection on the current context of our design work and how it must related to our current modern –post modern life.
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