Learning how to design architecture form the Villa Savoye design process

Abstract

[EN] How to design architecture? And what makes a design process an interesting one? For non-experienced designers, it is difficult to understand typical aspects of exemplary design processes, like conflicting constraints, using mixed media, divergent thinking, working iteratively and in a non-lineair way, or integrating, many topics in one solution, balancing between a straightforward concept and ambiguïty, elaborating earlier concepts and learning from history. These characteristics were highlighted in various publications by several researchers during the past decades. And although the Villa Savoye was built before all that research, the extensive documentation of its design process by the Fondation Le Corbusier, makes it an excellent example to illustrate typical aspects of interesting design processes in a retroactive manner.