Mackintosh’s Hill House Becomes an International Iconic House!

SPECIAL – Czech Classics

Record Number of New Iconic Houses - Part 1

At Plečnik House: To Decide Where the Shadow Falls

Record Number of New Iconic Houses - Part 2

A Story of Burnt Books and Broken Bricks

Iconic Encounters: London

Remembering Irving J. Gill

Iconic Houses in the Media

Interview in Leading Catalan newspaper ARA

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Historical Exhibition, Marie-Laure de Noailles, Painter, Conversation

Our Badge of Honour

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Early Furniture Designs by Le Corbusier on Permanent Display in Maison Blanche

Photo Report City Icons Amsterdam

Healing Through Architecture

Reopening An Iconic Modernist Landmark

City Icons Kick Off with Talk by Linda Vlassenrood

MORE MIES - Pure Architecture in Haus Lange Haus Esters

Through a Bauhaus Lens: Edith Tudor-Hart and Isokon

Modernism Week Lecture: 12 Years of Iconic Houses

Aluminaire House Grand Opening

Exhibition Icons of the Czech Avant-Garde

An Elementalist and Mediterranean Architecture

Icon for Sale - Loos Villa: Haus Horner

SPECIAL – Iconic Dreams Europe - Sleep in an Iconic House!

SPECIAL – Iconic Dreams North America - Sleep in an Iconic House!

SPECIAL – Dutch Delights!

SPECIAL - Vacances en France!

SPECIAL – German Greats!

SPECIAL - Casas Icónicas en España!

SPECIAL – Northern (High)Lights!

SPECIAL – Iconic Artist Residencies

SPECIAL – Iconic Collective Housing

SPECIAL – Women & Iconic Houses

Public Screenings and Private Streaming of Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House

Support the Frankfurt Declaration (on Housing)

Winy Wants a World Wonder

Welcome Atelier Volten!

Sleep in a Modernist Gem – Huis Billiet in Bruges

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - 100 Years Van Zessen House

Exclusive Tour and Film Screening Package

The Last House Designed by Adolf Loos Will Be Built in Prague

Icons of the Czech Avantgarde

Icon for Sale - Casa Legorreta

Rietveld Day: 200 Enthusiasts Explored 3 Utrecht Icons

Hurray! 10 Years Iconic Houses

7th International Iconic Houses Conference A Huge Success

Meet Conference Co-Chair Iveta Černá

Meet Conference Co-Chair Maria Szadkowska

Eighteen Iconic Houses Under One Roof

17 June - 'Pioneers-film' Screening Amersfoort

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Van Eesteren House Museum

Welcome Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky Zentrum in Vienna!

Welcome Vila Volman! Jewel of Czech Functionalism

Movie Night: Adolf Loos- Revolutionary Among Architects

'Inside Iconic Houses' Case Study House #26 Webcast in Webshop

Inside Iconic Houses at Taut’s Home in Berlin

Rediscovering Forgotten Loos Interiors in Pilsen

'Inside Iconic Houses' - Online Tour Program

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - The Diagoon House

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Rietveld Schröder House

Rietveld Houses Owners Association

Corberó Space: New Life for Hidden Jewel

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Pierre Cuypers' House and Workshops

Reeuwijk Celebrates Completion of Restoration Rietveld Homes!

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Van Doesburg Rinsema House

Welcome Rietveld's Van Daalen House!

Architect Harry Gessner Passed Away at 97

Watch Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House Now On Demand

Icon Saved: Dorchester Drive House

Welcome Umbrella House!

Iconic Houses in the Netherlands – Berlage’s Masterpiece

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Het Schip

Inside Iconic Houses - Tour of Maison Cazenave

Inside Iconic Houses Tours Vizcaya Museum & Gardens in Miami

Casa Masó Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary

Inside Iconic Houses tours Roland Reisley's Usonian Frank Lloyd Wright House

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Portraits of the Architect - Interview with Gennaro Postiglione

Test Labs for New Ideas - Interview with Natascha Drabbe

Inside Iconic Houses - Isokon Building

Inside Iconic Houses - 16 December: Sunnylands with Janice Lyle

BCN-BXL Coderch-De Koninck - Beyond Time

New Chairman Architect Nanne de Ru on The Perfect Platform

Health and Home - Interview with Beatriz Colomina

A Life Less Ordinary – Interview with Valentijn Carbo

Invisible Women - Interview with Alice T. Friedman

Winy Maas on the Green Dip

Anita Blom on Experimental Housing of the 1970s

Women’s Worlds - Interview with Natalie Dubois

The Culture of Living - Interview with Robert von der Nahmer

Hetty Berens: A Fresh Take on Modernism

Niek Smit on Supporting Modern Heritage

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Hans van Heeswijk on The Pioneers of the Dutch Modern House

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Save Maison Zilveli - Sign the Petition!

How a Building Tells a Story - Recorded Event

Toolkit for Owners of a Modern House

13 Aalto Sites Nominated for UNESCO World Heritage

Villa Beer At Risk - Sign the Petition!

Business Cards of Stone, Timber and Concrete in the Brussels Region 1830-1970

Exhibiting & Visiting Modernist Monuments

Fostering Well-Researched Responsible Design

ICONS AT RISK

Enjoy a virtual visit to the California House and a Q&A with architect Peter Gluck

Exhibition 'Modernism and Refuge'

A Hidden Gem of Postmodernism

New Centre for Historic Houses of India

An Online Chronicle of the Douglas House

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IH-lectures USA & Canada Feb 2020 on Melnikov House

Sponsors and Friends

An Afternoon with the Glucks

Chandler McCoy on Making Modern Houses Sustainable

Catherine Croft: Getting Away from the Demolition Mentality in the UK

Patrick Weber on Discovering an Unknown Icon

Fiona Fisher on Iconic Interiors

Jocelyn Bouraly on Villa Cavrois

Mireia Massagué on finding success through a new kind of partnership

Danish Moderns – Looking Back at Our Mini-Seminar

Venturo house complements Exhibition Centre WeeGee’s offering

Lecture report: Remembering Richard Neutra

Hôtel Mezzara and the Guimard Museum project

We welcome 13 new members!

BREAKING NEWS: 8 Wright Sites Inscribed on Unesco World Heritage List!

LECTURE 29 August - Raymond Neutra: My Father and Frank Lloyd Wright

Iconic Reads

Iconic Houses End Year Message

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Kohlberg House Restoration in Progress

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An Iconic Saga

Restoring Eileen Gray’s Villa E-1027 and Clarifying the Controversies

Modernism on the East Coast

Iconic Houses in Latin America

Conference testimonials

House Tours May 2018 

Expert Meetings

Natascha Drabbe - Iconic Houses: The Next Chapter

Terence Riley -KEYNOTE SPEAKER- on Philip Johnson

New era for Villa E-1027 and Cap Moderne

Hilary Lewis on Philip Johnson and his Glass House

John Arbuckle on Great House Tours

William D. Earls on the Harvard Five in New Canaan

Stover Jenkins on Working for Philip Johnson

Frederick Noyes on his Father’s House

Scott Fellows and Craig Bassam on their Passion for Preservation

Jorge Liernur -KEYNOTE SPEAKER- on Latin American Modernism(s)

Fabio Grementieri on Modernism in Argentina

Catalina Corcuera Cabezut on Casa Luis Barragán

Renato Anelli on Lina Bo Bardi’s Casa de Vidro

Tim McClimon on Corporate Preservation

Amanda Nelson on Building Donor Relationships

John Bacon on Planned Giving

Jean-Paul Warmoes on the Art of Fundraising in America

Chandler McCoy on Why Less is More

Katherine Malone-France on Moving with the Times

Anne Mette Rahbæk on Philanthropic Investments and Preservation

Peter McMahon on Saving Modern Houses on Cape Cod

Toshiko Kinoshita on Japanese Modern Heritage Houses

Roland Reisley on Life in a Frank Lloyd Wright House

5th Iconic Houses Conference May 2018

Kristin Stone, Pasadena Tour Company

Restoring the past: The Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Home Studio

Behind the Scenes: Hendrick de Keyser Association

Crosby Doe, Architecture for Sale

Latin America Special – Focus on Mexico

De Stijl in Drachten

Preserving the Nancarrow House-Studio

Meet the Friends - Nanne de Ru

Latin America Special – Focus on Brazil

Jan de Jong’s House is Latest Hendrick de Keyser Acquisition

Stay in a Belgian Modernist Masterpiece

In Berlin’s Modernist Network

Rietveld-Schröder House Celebrates De Stijl Anniversary

Meet Our New Foundation Board Members

Maintaining Aalto's Studio – Linoleum Conservation

Virtual Tour of a Papaverhof Home in 3D

Getty Grant for Villa E-1027

Plečnik House in Ljubljana

Iconic Dacha

Iconic Houses: A Bohemian Road Trip

Work in Progress: Capricho de Gaudí

11 Le Corbusier Homes now on Unesco World Heritage List

At home with Le Corbusier

Henry van de Velde’s Study in Haus Hohe Pappeln Restored

Lynda Waggoner reports

A Conference to Remember

4th International Iconic Houses Conference

Guest of Honor - Harry Gesner

Fallingwater: European Lecture Tour

Wright Plus 2016 Walk

Susan Macdonald, Getty Conservation Institute

John Mcllwee, Garcia House

Meet the Friends – Elisabeth Tostrup

Iconic Houses: The Story So Far

Willie van Burgsteden, designer Iconic Houses

Buff Kavelman, Philanthropic Advisor

Meet the Friends - Frederick Noyes

Sheridan Burke, GML Heritage

Meet the Friends - Raymond Neutra

Sidney Williams, Frey House

Franklin Vagnone and Deborah Ryan, Museum Anarchists

Meet the Friends - James Haefner

Toshiko Mori, architect

Malachi Connolly, Cape Cod Modern House Trust

Meet the Friends - Penny Sparke

Lucia Dewey Atwood, Eames House

Cory Buckner, Mutual Housing Site Office

Jeffrey Herr, Hollyhock House

Speaking Volumes: Building the Iconic Houses Library

Sarah Lorenzen, Neutra VDL Studio and Residences

Ted Bosley, Gamble House

Keeping It Modern - Getty Conservation Grants

Meet the Friends - Thomas Schönauer

Wim de Wit, Stanford University

Linda Dishman, Los Angeles Conservancy

Jesse Lattig, Pasadena Heritage

Join us in Los Angeles! Update

Work in Progress: Casa Vicens

Work in Progress: Van Wassenhove House

Work in Progress: Villa Cavrois

Work in Progress: The Pearlroth House

Conference calls!

Follow us!

Third Iconic Houses Conference a huge success

Conference House Tours Barcelona

Marta Lacambra, Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera

Natascha Drabbe, Iconic Houses Foundation

Special speaker Oscar Tusquets

Jordi Tresserras, UNESCO Network ‘Culture, tourism and development’

Christen Obel, Utzon Foundation

Elena Ruiz Sastre, Casa Broner

Fernando Alvarez Prozorovich, La Ricarda

Tim Benton, Professor of Art History (Emeritus)

Susana Landrove, Docomomo Spain

Rossend Casanova, Casa Bloc

Conference Program 25 November 2014

Jordi Falgàs, Casa Rafael Masó

Documentary La Ricarda

Marga Viza, Casa Míla/La Pedrera

Celeste Adams, Frank Lloyd Wright Trust

Conference 25 November 2014 at La Pedrera

Henry Urbach, The Glass House

Victoria & Albert Museum London November 12, 2013

Tommi Lindh, new director of the Alvar Aalto Foundation and Museum

Iveta Černá, Villa Tugendhat

Lynda Waggoner, Fallingwater

Kimberli Meyer, MAK Center

Rent a house designed by Gerrit Rietveld

Barragán House on Screen

Gesamtkunstwerk – An Icon on the Move

Triennale der Moderne 27 September - 13 October 2013

Prestigious Art Nouveau mansions in Brussels open

September 14 + 15: Heritage Days in Paris

June's New Arrivals: Museum Apartments

Iconic Houses is now on Twitter and Facebook

Corbu’s Cabanon: Reconstruction and Lecture

Projekt Mies In Krefeld: Life-sized model of the Krefeld Clubhouse

New arrivals: Spain special

MAMO: Le Corbu’s ‘Park in the Sky’ open 12 June

Taut's Home wins Europa Nostra Award

Annual Wright Architectural Housewalk: 18 May

Frank Lloyd Wright Homes on Screen

Message from the Editor

Neutra’s House on Screen

Michel Richard, Fondation Le Corbusier

Symposium The Public and the Modern House

Melnikov House on Screen

Iconic Houses in the media

Message from the Editor

Round Table Review

Eileen Gray House on Screen

Copy Culture

At Home in the 20th Century

New 20th century Iconic Houses website launches

Philippe Bélaval, Centre des monuments nationaux

Posted July 21, 2016

At home with Le Corbusier

A trio of buildings designed for himself, his parents and a friend show the iconic architecture of Le Corbusier in a particularly intimate light.

  • La Roche’s bedroom, (‘the purist bedroom’), photo Fred Boissonnas ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Dining room, photo by Olivier Martin-Gambier © FLC/ADAGP
  • Footbridge leading to the public spaces, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier © FLC/ADAGP
  • Hall and footbridge, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier © FLC/ADAGP
  • Art gallery, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier © FLC/ADAGP
  • Art gallery, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier © FLC/ADAGP
  • La Roche and Jeanneret Houses, photo Charles Gérard, 1925 © FLC/ADAGP
  • La Roche and Jeanneret Houses, photo Charles Gérard, 1927 © FLC/ADAGP
  • Raoul La Roche in the art gallery, 1930 © FLC/ADAGP
  • Villas La Roche-Jeanneret, first plan: perspective sketch plan
  • La Roche’s bedroom, (‘the purist bedroom’), photo Fred Boissonnas ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Dining room, photo by Olivier Martin-Gambier © FLC/ADAGP
  • Footbridge leading to the public spaces, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier © FLC/ADAGP
  • Hall and footbridge, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier © FLC/ADAGP
  • Art gallery, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier © FLC/ADAGP
  • Art gallery, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier © FLC/ADAGP
  • La Roche and Jeanneret Houses, photo Charles Gérard, 1925 © FLC/ADAGP
  • La Roche and Jeanneret Houses, photo Charles Gérard, 1927 © FLC/ADAGP
  • Raoul La Roche in the art gallery, 1930 © FLC/ADAGP
  • Villas La Roche-Jeanneret, first plan: perspective sketch plan

La Roche House, Paris (1923-1925)

In 1918, Raoul La Roche met Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, the future Le Corbusier (he would not adopt the pseudonym until 1920). La Roche went on to build up a significant collection of Cubist and Purist works (by Picasso, Braque, Fernand Léger and Juan Gris) from 1921 on. Around this time, La Roche commissioned a home-cum-gallery from his friend the architect, to both display his art collection and serve as his principal residence. Constructed between 1923 and 1925 by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, his cousin and associate, the La Roche House represents an exceptional architectural undertaking. Its originality lies in its unification of two different spaces, art gallery and private apartments, each serving a different function. From 1925 to 1933, numerous architects, writers, artists, and collectors came to visit this experimental home, leaving their mark by signing the visitor's book, which was kept open in the entrance hall.
The use of new construction materials allowed Le Corbusier to put into practice here what he would define in 1927 as the ‘five points for a new architecture’: the open facade, the open plan, the long horizontal window, the roof garden, and the pilotis.
The La Roche House, as well as the adjacent Jeanneret House, are representative of the ideas that Le Corbusier explored in the 1920s. Devoid of ornamentation and composed of simple, geometric forms, they are the fruit of a new architectural language. In their outright defiance of the academic aesthetic tradition, they join the ranks of the modernist movement.
The La Roche and Jeanneret Houses were classified as historical monuments in 1996. Since 1970, they have undergone several restoration campaigns. The interiors of the La Roche have been entirely restored in 2009. The facades and the exteriors of both houses have been restored in 2014. The Le Corbusier Foundation ensures their conservation and organizes exhibitions and tours in the La Roche House.

  • Staircase leading to the roof garden, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Corner with chimney / Living room, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Painting studio, rue Nungesser et Coli, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Le Corbusier in his studio on rue Nungesser et Coli ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Le Corbusier in his studio on rue Nungesser et Coli ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Façade on rue Nungesser et Coli, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Staircase leading to the roof garden, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Corner with chimney / Living room, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Painting studio, rue Nungesser et Coli, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Le Corbusier in his studio on rue Nungesser et Coli ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Le Corbusier in his studio on rue Nungesser et Coli ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Façade on rue Nungesser et Coli, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP

Le Corbusier’s Studio Apartment, Paris (1931-1934)

Le Corbusier’s studio apartment occupies the top two floors of the Molitor apartment block, located at 24, rue Nungesser et Coli. Designed between 1931 and 1934 by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, the building, called 24 N.C., is situated in the 16th arrondissement on the border between Paris and Boulogne. Due to its east-west orientation and its exceptional surroundings, it fits what Le Corbusier termed ‘the conditions of the radiant city’. As a project for a rental building, it offered the architect the opportunity to test the validity of his urban proposals. Given that there were no structures opposite, he could build façades entirely filled with windows, thereby constructing the first residential apartment made of glass in architectural history. Bathed in light, Le Corbusier’s personal apartment spans the length of the top floor and also houses his painting studio. Its dimensions are roughly 240 m2, divided between two levels linked by an interior staircase. Large, pivoting wooden doors open and close to form various spatial configurations in the apartment. When Le Corbusier received guests, he could direct his visitors either toward the painting studio or the reception spaces simply by closing one of the doors.
Le Corbusier delegated the furnishings to interior designer Charlotte Perriand, who worked in his and Pierre Jeanneret’s studio at the time and designed many of the interior pieces.
The architect lived in the apartment from 1934 until his death in 1965. It was classified as a historical monument in 1972, and the façades facing the streets, the courtyard, the roof, and the entrance hall were also inscribed as such in 1990. Significant restoration works are planned in 2017. This restoration campaign concerns all the studio apartment and roofs coverings (roof-terrace, vaults and balconies). The work is accompanied by a thought on museography and presentation of Le Corbusier’s working environment and living space.

  • Villa ‘Le Lac’, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Villa ‘Le Lac’, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Interior of Villa ‘Le Lac’, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Interior of Villa ‘Le Lac’, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • View from Lake Léman onto the Villa, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Le Corbusier with his brother Albert and their mother in Villa Le Lac, photo Yves Debraine, 1959 ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Le Corbusier, Sketch of Villa Le Lac ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Le Corbusier, Sketch of Villa Le Lac ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Le Corbusier, Sketch of Villa Le Lac ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Villa ‘Le Lac’, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Villa ‘Le Lac’, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Interior of Villa ‘Le Lac’, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Interior of Villa ‘Le Lac’, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • View from Lake Léman onto the Villa, photo Olivier Martin-Gambier ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Le Corbusier with his brother Albert and their mother in Villa Le Lac, photo Yves Debraine, 1959 ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Le Corbusier, Sketch of Villa Le Lac ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Le Corbusier, Sketch of Villa Le Lac ©FLC/ADAGP
  • Le Corbusier, Sketch of Villa Le Lac ©FLC/ADAGP

Villa Le Lac, Corseaux, Switzerland (1923-1924)

Designed for Le Corbusier’s parents, Villa Le Lac was constructed between 1923 and 1924 from plans drawn up by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret. The first example of modern architecture executed by Le Corbusier in his native Switzerland, Villa Le Lac (the humblest of the Purist houses) foreshadowed three of the ‘five points for a new architecture’ he later pioneered: the roof terrace or garden (manifested here for the first time), the open plan and the ribbon window. A Purist house and true ‘machine for living’, the Villa marks a decisive stage in Le Corbusier’s career and prefigures Villa Savoye, a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture.
In 1962, Villa Le Lac was listed in the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property. In 1971, ownership of the property was officially handed over to the Le Corbusier Foundation.
In 1984 the building was opened to the viewing public, being awarded museum status in 2010. Villa Le Lac regularly presents exhibitions linked to the work of Le Corbusier, as well as to the world of architecture more generally.
The Le Corbusier Foundation has launched a huge restoration project for the house with support from the Villa Le Lac Le Corbusier Association. The restoration works were focused on the exteriors: the wall on the road, the facades and the garden. Also planned is a restoration of the interiors.
Notwithstanding its need for renovation, the house, as it stands today, remains true to the original plan with few exceptions. Like La Roche House and the apartment Le Corbusier built for himself, Villa Le Lac was quite a personal commission, yet one that marks a major step in the development of his architecture.

By Fondation Le Corbusier

Posted July 21, 2016