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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Villa Savoye, nicknamed "Les Heures clairs" by its owners, was built between 1928 and 1931 in Poissy by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret for the Savoy family. This architectural manifesto illustrates the five points of modern architecture: stilts, roof terrace, open plan, open façade and blindfolded windows. Ordered as a weekend home, it rests on a plot of seven hectares, freeing the ground with reinforced concrete stilts.

Designed as a "inhabitant machine", the villa was quickly criticized for its practical defects: water infiltration, poor thermal and sound insulation, and cracks. The Savoys, dissatisfied, declared her uninhabitable in 1937. During World War II, it was requisitioned by the Germans and then the Americans, before being turned into a grain attic by a farmer in the 1950s.

Saved from demolition in 1958, the villa was classified as a Historic Monument in 1965 and restored from 1963. It became a world symbol of modern architecture, classified as a UNESCO heritage in 2016 with 16 other works by Le Corbusier. Today, open to the public, it embodies both the genius and the limits of functionalism, while inspiring replicas like Canberra (Australia).

The initial project, although reduced for budgetary reasons, largely exceeded the anticipated cost. The villa includes a garage on the ground floor, a living floor with terrace and solarium, and rooms organized around a patio. Built-in storage and the absence of superfluous supporting walls reflect the Corbusian ideal of simplicity and efficiency. Despite its flaws, it remains an essential reference in 20th century architecture.

In 2024, a museum dedicated to Le Corbusier and modern architecture must be built nearby, with an underground link to the villa. This project, scheduled for 2027, will include exhibition spaces, an auditorium and a resource centre. The Savoye villa, despite its successive restorations, retains a state deemed "poor" by some experts, but its symbolic role now exceeds its original function.

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