Pavillon Suisse (Swiss
Pavilion)
7 boulevard Jourdan
75014 Paris
France
Le Corbusier and Pierre
Jeanneret 1932
Cité universitaire was founded
in 1921 to provide accommodation and support for foreign students in
Paris, with a number of residential pavilions endowed by different
national communities. Le Corbusier was commissioned by the Swiss community
in the late 1920s.
The pavilion adheres to Le
Corbusier's 'five points of architecture', but with a number of
developments since the Villa
Savoye. The free facade and horizontal window have become a continuous
glazed curtain wall, on the south side of the building (above). The
pilotis have developed from thin columns to six massive reinforced
concrete 'dog-bones' or 'thighs' with their characteristic figure-of-eight
cross section to withstand winds.
While the client accepted the
student rooms being raised in mid air, the public spaces were required to
be on the ground. The plan accommodates them in a separate block sitting
on the earth, its curvaceous form contrasting with the simple slab of the
student accommodation.
Simon Glynn 2001
How to visit
After a period of renovation,
the building is now open to
the public again. Opening hours are weekdays 10am-12pm and 2-5pm.
Take the RER to Cité
universitaire. Cross the road into the university campus. Go down the
steps to your left, and follow the road to the end, where the Pavilion is
on your right. (There is a plan of the campus inside the RER station.)
Books and other web
sites
Click the book title to view and to order direct
from
Le Corbusier's
original architectural 'manifesto', describing what he sought to achieve, as it first
appeared in English in 1931. Accessible (if an unconventional style for today) and
stimulating.