VILLA SAVOYE REINVENTED

SITE PLAN/ ROUTING: The first thing you see when entering the site is the original villa; the underground extension stays in the background (1). You are then guided to the villa building. You approach the villa by crossing the glass roof of the new Centre for Architectural Knowledge, giving you an initial impression and a moment to familiarise yourself (2).

The building is ‘’a house as a machine’’ – it rethinks the traditional museum that has several rooms that aren’t used all the time. The Centre of Architectural Knowledge is designed as a labyrinth where a visit is an explorative journey - ramps lead you through the whole building and you finish your journey at the exit. There is no repetition or going back.

Important theme of Le Corbusier - open and confined spaces are mimicked in the building. Each of the functional areas has a colour assigned. The areas are based on Le Corbusier’s colour keyboards from 1931 and provide particular atmospheric effects.

The new Centre for Architectural Knowledge is designed to teach about his achievements. It is based on Le Corbusier’s belief that anyone can reinvent themselves. Instead of making drastic changes to the Villa Savoye in order to accommodate the extensive catering programme for visitors, it was decided to keep the monument in its current state.