I was an Architecture major in the early 60s. One of the buildings that amazed me was Villa Savoye designed by Le Corbusier and built in 1929. It still amazes me.

Don't make me wait, come into my house.

Today was a pilgrimage: some go to Mecca, I go to Poissy, about half an hour outside of Paris, to visit Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye. Like a good pilgrim I walked from the train station (and ended up getting lost on the highway), and like a good pilgrim I circled the house first before going in. Several times now I've traveled far out of my way to see some piece of architecture, but this one takes the cake. Walking through that house was as valuable as a year of school, I'm sure. The distribution of the spaces, the free plan, the windows, the colors of the walls (I know, colored walls!), the arrangement of the furniture...it's enough to make you want to lie down in a comfortable and gorgeous Corbusier-Perriand chaise. So I did.

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Villa Savoye
July 27, 2004. My visit to the Villa Savoye, designed by Le Corbusier and Pierre Janneret, in Poissy.

I arrived at the house at around 1:30. Ever the adventuresome one, I thought that I would walk from the Poissy train station instead of waiting for the bus. And it was all going great--finding secret closes, a great big suburban park--until I ended up on the side of a highway. But somehow, going back through the park, I made it.

  thanks to Coudal Partners