Sierra Laico

AP Art History

January 28, 2019

Villa Savoye and Fallingwater

The Villa Savoye at Poissy, France, was designed by Le Corbusier in 1929 and represents

the culmination of a decade during which the architect worked to articulate the essence of

modern architecture while making considerable connections to architecture’s classic roots. Its

detachment from its physical context lends its design to be contextually integrated into the

mechanistic/industrial context of the early 20th century, conceptually defining the house as a

mechanized entity. In response to his aspirations and admiration of mechanized design, Le

Corbusier established the “Five Points” of architecture, which is simply a list of prescribed

elements to be incorporated into design: pilotis, flat roof terrace, open plan, ribbon windows, and

free façade. The Villa Savoye can be understood as Le Corbusier’s refinement of his architectural

system, his own personal Parthenon. Its geometric volumes embody his concept of the type form,

and its careful consideration of procession and proportion depict classic ideals. Simultaneously,

its clean simplicity and its use of concrete evoke the precisely-calibrated works of engineering

that the architect loved. The Villa Savoye represents Le Corbusier’s re-conception of the very

nature of architecture, his attempt to express a timeless classicism through architectural

modernism.

Fallingwater was commissioned by the Kaufmann family in 1934, which was at the time

viewed by many as the ending of Frank Lloyd Wright’s career. The house’s daring construction

over a waterfall was instrumental in reviving Wright’s career in architecture and became one of

the most famous buildings of the 20th century. Fallingwater was a masterpiece of Wright’s
theories on organic architecture, which sought to integrate humans, architecture, and nature

together so that each one would be improved by the relationship. He believed that architecture

must not only sit comfortably within its landscape, but it should also cultivate and reveal the

dormant qualities hidden within the setting. Accordingly, Fallingwater grows from the site’s

rocky landscape, its concrete terraces float above the falls, drawing attention to the water while

respecting its space, and its horizontal forms and ochre color recall and highlight the boulders

below.

Both of these magnificent pieces of architecture define the architects’ visions of what this

medium of art truly means to them. They both used their own reimagined sense of modernism to

pay homage to the traditions used before them, such as in the Villa Savoye when it uses ideal

platonic forms valued once before by the ancient Greeks. Wright drew inspiration from

modernist architects, but incorporated his own organic, naturalistic feel.