Abstract
This is a study of the microhistory of Villa Savoye that has already been realized, which thus does not concern its genesis (almost too studied by others). In the construction site of microhistory the reduced scale of observation is the space which may permit the reconstruction of interpersonal relationships as a historical subject and to experiment with new procedures and put interpretative categories to the test. The problem regarding the construction defects is more or less a constant in the work of Le Corbusier, in addition to the speed of the processes of both ageing and decay which are characteristic of the materials used in modern architecture. In this sense the restoration of the works of Le Corbusier is also an opportunity to bring back to the center of the critical and theoretical discussion crucial topics regarding the reflection on modern architecture: originality and authorship. Restorations such as the ones undertaken for Villa Savoye reopened the discussion on the topic of the restoration of an auteur architecture, beginning from its foundations.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Le Corbusier, Conservation of modern architecture, World Heritage, Villa Savoye, Modern single-family housing, French modern architecture, Restoration.

Issue 53
Year 2015
Pages 40-47
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/53.A.EKIZA53A

Abstract
The Maison Curutchet is the only house by Le Corbusier in America. The project was developed between 1948 to 1949 and built between 1949 to 1955 as a single-family dwelling and as a professional medical office to the well-known Dr. Pedro Domingo Curutchet in La Plata, Buenos Aires. In 2013–2014, Colegio de Arquitectos de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (CAPBA) which head office is settled there, decided to carry out a full maintenance, done with the strict criteria of minimizing the impact on the house and using as reference the original documentation. The process was coordinated by CAPBA's Enhancement Research Institute, led by the architect Pablo Mastropasqua, and directed by the architect Julio Santana.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Le Corbusier, Conservation of modern architecture, World Heritage, Maison Curutchet, Modern single-family housing, Argentinian modern architecture.

Issue 53
Year 2015
Pages 32-39
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/53.A.P4OWYVN8

Abstract
In 2011, the Fondation Le Corbusier took the fortunate initiative of requesting a historical study prior to the restoration of the villa Le Lac, built in 1924 at Corseaux-sous-Vevey in Switzerland. Submitted in 2012, the study sought to provide objective and factual information about the construction and physical evolution of the building, by exposing the initial intentions of the architect and his wishes, fulfilled or not, for its transformation, restoration or improvement, through research in several archives (Fondation Le Corbusier, Communal Archives of Corseaux and Vevey, G.T.A. in Zurich, Cantonal Archives…). The Corbusean archives, as well as the local archives and several periodicals and reviews of the period, both French and foreign, were combed. The research, based mainly on primary sources, was completed by reading the writings of the architect, his contemporaries and historians. Having been carried out prior to the material analysis of the building, the study revealed a series of new features of the house and its environs, including the garden. Thanks to an analysis of the numerous documents mentioned above, an attempt to put photographs of this evolving building in chronological order was carried out with Bénédicte Gandini. This article seeks to examine one of these new features. A feature of fundamental importance as it calls into question a well-anchored myth and is connected to recent discoveries made during restoration works on Corbusean villas of the 1920s.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Le Corbusier, Conservation of modern architecture, World Heritage, Villa Le Lac, Swiss modern architecture, Finishing color pallet, Restoration.

Issue 53
Year 2015
Pages 24-31
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/53.A.L3Z2BMBE

Abstract
The Petite Maison, or the villa Le Lac was built by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret at Corseaux, near Vevey, in 1924 for the parents of the former. Various modifications were made from then until 1973. The exteriors, façades, gardens and enclosures of this emblematic work were repaired and restored based on detailed research of the fabric and a well judged program of conservation which concluded in June 2015. This essay reports on some of the specifics of the project, the construction itself, the problems of ageing that the architects had to address, and the most recent conservation works (2013–15).

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Le Corbusier, Conservation of modern architecture, World Heritage, Petite Maison, Villa Le Lac, Swiss modern architecture, Restoration.

Issue 53
Year 2015
Pages 18-23
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/53.A.WE5292W8

Abstract
Le Corbusier died on 27 August 1965 at Roquebrune-CapMartin, near his Cabanon. Without direct heirs and driven by the fear that his carefully conserved archives and works be scattered after his death, Le Corbusier spent the last fifteen years of his life conceiving and implementing, down to its smallest details, the project of a Foundation that would bear his name. Today the activity of the Fondation Le Corbusier comprises two main undertakings: circulating his work and spreading his ideas; preserving the architect’s work and collections. Indeed as the legatee and direct offshoot of its creator Le Corbusier, the Foundation holds the moral rights to this work and therefore has a duty to constantly watch over his architectural work (and indeed the artist’s entire legacy). For the Foundation each of his buildings constitute a piece of art in and of itself. Each issue concerned in the restoration of Le Corbusier’s buildings is effectively governed by this specificity.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Le Corbusier, Conservation of modern architecture, World Heritage, Fondation Le Corbusier, Maison La Roche, Maison Jeanneret, Swiss modern architecture.

Issue 53
Year 2015
Pages 12-17
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/53.A.Z5DBVFNB

Abstract
In the residential districts built after the Second World War, the qualities of landscapes are not, in most cases, taken into account in understanding projects nor are they considered as a resource in renovation projects except as a “compensatory greening” once the main spaces have been divided, privatized and fenced off. We suggest considering this residential landscape heritage as a potentially structuring one, through the landscape approach, based on three levels for interpreting space: that of the relation to the geographic and urban site; that of the neighborhood defined by its open and public spaces; and lastly, that of the materiality of places and practices. We see it as relevant since it is more global and adapted to the current context of projects.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Modern housing, Mass housing, Post-war housing, French modern architecture, Modern landscapes.

Issue 54
Year 2016
Pages 72-77
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/54.A.06J4IEKA

Abstract
The project for the renovation of the Willy Van Der Meeren apartment building known as Ieder Zijn Huis [“A House for Everyone”], in Brussels, raises a question that is crucial for the conservation of modern work using prefabrication techniques. The debate focuses on the original design and construction values, and above all on how best to keep them alive and contemporary despite the building's age and changing standards and techniques. In the wording of the renovation specifications, the project owner — the public company Beliris — laid stress on the importance of preserving the architectural qualities: “Given the building's importance in the architectural heritage, the renovation must reflect the original ideas of the designer, Willy Van Der Meeren”. The point of the call for tenders was to establish an approach for the work that conserves the structure's architectural principles in terms of appearance and structural articulation, while making renovated apartments available that meet today's standards. The architecture firm Origin decided to focus on the building's values and on the comfort and convenience of the accommodation, while pursuing further the conceptual direction taken by the original designer. This meant exploring all the building's architectural and structural aspects in order to successfully showcase its qualities.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Modern housing, Mass housing, Post-war housing, Willy Van Der Meeren, Ieder Zijn Huis, Belgian modern architecture.

Issue 54
Year 2016
Pages 66-71
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/54.A.JG9AW7GL

Abstract
Now that Le Corbusier's architectural oeuvre has been nominated for the third time for inclusion in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, it is useful to revisit one of his icons built in the aftermath of World War II: the Unité d’Habitation in Marseille. Far from wishing to retrace the genesis of this outstanding building, it is a different story that I would like to sketch out here. Less well known, it is, however, fundamental to the material understanding and conservation of modern architecture. It is a history of the many repairs and other restoration projects that have accompanied this monument of 20th century architecture ever since its inception.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Modern housing, Mass housing, Post-war housing, Unité d’habitation, French modern architecture, Le Corbusier.

Issue 54
Year 2016
Pages 60-65
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/54.A.MVLPSYLX

Abstract
The Corviale is one of the most controversial pieces of 20th century Roman architecture, having been simultaneously debated, demonized, mythologized, loved and hated. The architecture is unquestionably extraordinary, and not only for its size. The complex, comprised of public housing and services for more than 8,000 residents, was designed between 1972 and 1974 by Mario Fiorentino, along with a large group of associates, and was built in the following ten years. As a result of deterioration due to its incompletion, lack of maintenance, continuous squatting and difficulties for diverse residents to coexist, the Corviale has, for years, represented the manifesto of disastrous public housing policies in Italy

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Modern housing, Mass housing, Post-war housing, Corviale, Italian modern architecture, Mario Fiorentino.

Issue 54
Year 2016
Pages 44-51
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/54.A.11EM7W13

Abstract
The prototype “EH, evolutionary building” at Solomeo by the design team Piano & Rice Engineers and Architects Vibrocemento Perugia s.p.a. is an example of the experimental design of residential buildings for emergency situations and represents a crucial phase of transition from traditional prefabrication to open prefabrication. Built on the basis of the project prepared for the competition held following the disastrous 1976 earthquake in Friuli, many of the ideas tested in the prototype were later used to construct the RIGO housing estate at Corciano. The text describes the architectural study and guidelines for the protection and reuse of this significant modernist building, today abandoned.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Modern housing, Mass housing, Post-war housing, Evolutionary Building, Prototype Housing, Italian modern architecture, Renzo Piano, Peter Rice.

Issue 54
Year 2016
Pages 36-43
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/54.A.TBB9DHOC