Weissenhof-Siedlung Houses

Project

The first building, overhanging the second, is a cubic family house of the Citrohan type standing on pilotis. The free plan of the interior is emphasized by partitions that are not fixed, but curved. It benefits from a central hall and a double-height living room open to the south through a large bay window. The roof terrace accommodates a garden, living quarters and toilet facilities.

“Here we have a proposition for modern living: the spacious volume of a room in which one lives all day, the well-being induced by ample dimensions, the large cube of air and the influx of light. Emanating from this large room are enclosures assigned to functions of shorter duration. The dimensions required by the regulations in force to satisfy these functions are excessive, thus incurring needless expense, an oversized housing cube and therefore detrimental waste.” Le Corbusier, Œuvre Complète, volume 1, 1910-1929

Below this is the second building, a double house on pilotis illustrating the constructive principle of “Dom-Ino” structures. These are semi-detached houses with simplified plans, presented as models of “transformable houses”, in particular through the presence of mobile elements allowing not only flexibility in interior fittings but also a great saving of space.

On the first floor are the living and service rooms. In the centre, the long dining room is unconventional in being doubled by narrow bedrooms reminiscent of sleeping car cabins and separated by a movable partition. The kitchen and the bathroom are located on either side of the main room, backing onto the gables. The roof terrace contains a small library and a garden.