Villa Sarabhai - Andrew Hong

Villa Sarabhai

Location: Ahmedabad, India

Architect: Le Corbusier

Dates of Construction:1951-1955

Purpose: Manorama Sarabhai commissioned Le Corbusier in 1951 to build her a residence.

Section/Plans

This section cut reveals the spaces separated by the walls with also the absence of doors.

This shows the exterior and the interior but also incorporates the pool as part of the building itself.

Exterior

This building has many geometric shapes oriented orthogonally. The exterior is mostly comprised of brick and concrete.

This view shows that there are no doors. The tunnels of space are best seen through this view.

Print Sources

1. William J.R. Curtis - Le Corbusier Ideas and Forms (p. 71)

In this book the author relays the ideas and thoughts behind his residence buildings and villas. Le Corbusier believed that each building should be a mini city within its own. Sarabhai and other wealthy patrons invested in Le Corbusier view of modern architecture and his art form. The boxy shapes were consistent during the early villas such as this one. As he continued to design buildings, he made the boxy buildings more unique with the addition of more personality.

2. Roberto Gargiani Anna Rosellini - Le Corbusier Bèton Brut and Ineffable Space, 1940-1965 Surface Materials and Psychophysiology of Vision (p. 363)

This book talks about the success in the material used for this villa. He used reinforced concrete beams to shape the shape of the villa more freely, exploring the different sections. The parallel structure of the villa also helps resist the windy environment of this area of India. The boxy shapes and zones allow the viewer to look at and create new spaces within the villa.

Drawing

This drawing is the part of the exterior that ale reveals the absence of no doors.

Interior

This is the first floor of Villa Sarabhai. Yet again the inside of the buildings are comprised of geometric shapes converging at 90 degree angles. Different spaces are formed within the sliding panels. The absence of doors also creates different spaces within the interior.

Google Earth

This building surrounded by dense thick trees. It is isolated in a suburban area surrounded by pools that are circular and organic in space unlike the Villa Sarabhai.

Flickr

This picture is the backside of the Villa Sarabhai. This shows clearly the material used on the building. It captures the texture of the brick and concrete slabs.

Villa Sarabhai Blog

http://babelarchitectures.blogspot.com/2008/04/architectural-paparazzi-villa-sarabhai.html

The author of this blog talked about one thing specifically. She is amazed at the fact that there are no doors in the building and that the exterior and interior is separated by the bamboo curtains. I agree that this one factor of having no door is a fascinating feature. The thin layer between outside and inside provide an intimate feelings towards nature.

3 Facts

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2881896071.html

- The buildings were remarkably modern although them being made in the 1950s.

- Villa Shodhan is quite different although they are in the same region.

- The same families commissioned him to do five other villas.

Article About Le Corbusier

-Le Corbusier's values for architecture was perfection and standards believing everything was a machine.

- He believed that function triumphed over aesthetics.

- The modernist ideas of his was that all men have the same needs and wants

Video

http://vimeo.com/71120518

Le Corbusier 2.0 VOST from Alix Bossard A.K.A L'intrépide on Vimeo.

"The Architectural Origins Of the Carpenter Center |News | The Harvard Crimson." The Architectural Origins Of the Carpenter Center | News | The Harvard Crimson. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.

Curtis, William J. R. Le Corbusier: Ideas and Forms. New York: Rizzoli, 1986. Print.

Gargiani, Roberto, Le Corbusier, Anna Rosellini, and Steve Piccolo. Le Corbusier: Béton Brut and Ineffable Space, 1940-1965: Surface Materials and Psychophysiology of Vision. Lausanne, Switzerland: EFPL, 2011. Print.

"Le Corbusier: Modernist Visionary, Controversial Genius - Retrospect." Apartment Therapy. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.

"Villa Sarabhai Reflects Corbusier's Creative Genius: Reading from Palimpsest." - DNA : Daily News & Analysis. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.

"White Cities, Black Cities." : Architectural Paparazzi: Villa Sarabhai, Ahmedabadh, India, 1955 / Le Corbusier, Architect. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2014.