Villa La Roche by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret

Built for a Swiss banker in 1925 to house his art collection, Villa La Roche, Paris provided Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret to extend the concept of 'total art'. Like the Arts and Crafts movement and the Secessionists of Vienna, Le Corbusier believed in the sythensis of the arts - the fusion of architecture with painting, interior design, sculpture and even film.


The Villa is an inconic example of Le Corbusier's revolutionary vision which made him the C2oth most important and influential architect. His style is without precedent in terms of historical references and looks remarkably fresh and contemporary to this day.



The villa was built as part of a scheme (only one other was built - Villa Jeanneret) on an overlooked site with tight boundaries.


The exterior imparts clean simple lines in geometric forms which adds to a plain simplicity which gives the building a grandeur rooted in classical architecture. Cleverly positioned expanses of glass show views into the building which elucidate the elasticity of the interior plan.


The interior is dynamic - it moves when you move. Light is just as important a part of the artistic synthesis as structure - the intangible combined with the tangible. Whilst walking along the ramp and observing the works of art on the wall, you are aware that the wall's that form a backdrop to the art are a work of art in themselves.


The villa is open to to the public and is administered by the Fondation Le Corbuiser

All photograph's copyright Andy Marshall.

Re-discovering Edgar Wood

Long Street Methodist Church, Middleton by 1899-1901 by Edgar Wood

I love architecture for more than just the visual delights it entails. I also love it for the journey that it takes me upon. One such journey is with the architecture of Edgar Wood (1860-1935). I have a strong relationship with his Long Street Methodist Church of 1899-1901. I am a 'Friend' and recently had an exhibition  put on permenant display within the school rooms which form the southern wing of a courtyard linking the spiritual with the secular.

Redcroft and Fencegate, Middleton 1895 by Edgar Wood

The journey I have had with this particular architect has been enlightening to say the least. Wood was born in Middleton where I was brought up from the age of 3. As a child I was aware of his buildings and went to the infant school at Durnford Street which he built in association with James Henry Sellers. Our local news agents was also built by Wood and stands opposite a house he built for himself at Redcroft. I sort of knew, but didn't know (if you know what I mean) that these buildings looked different than the others around the town.

Walking into Middleton as a teenager I would peer through the gates of the Methodist Church at the Nirvana within.  The gates reveal a courtyard which has a real magical sense of enclosure; a haven and oasis in the middle of urbanity.

Detail from gates to the courtyard at Long Street Methodist Church

Later, as an adult I became involved with Long Street Methodist church as a 'Friend' and as a part of the group helped develop strategies to try and raise the profile of a building which is under threat because of a dwindling congregation and increasing costs.

Cornerstone Magazine for the Friends of Long Street Methodist Church

I have to admit that it was always the exterior which fascinated me. It was some way expressive of an individual spirit - real cutting edge architecture.  

Long Street Methodist Church exterior detail

During September I had my passions re-ignited for all things Wood related and met some wonderful people during the Heritage Open Day who fuelled my interest in expanding my knowledge about the wider context of Wood's work. 

I am always fascinated by associations and sources of inspiration and in researching these for Wood I came across a list as long as my arm:

People

Mackmurdo, Mackintosh, Voysey, Olbrich, Wagner, Lutyens, Sellers, Parker and Unwin, Wilson, Whall, Townsend, Crane,  Wallis, Gilbert, FW Jackson, Madox Brown, Loos, Klimt, Muthesius, Roller, Bohm, Hoffman......

Detail from Saint Martin's Marple design by Henry Wilson (1895)

Buildings

Palais Stoclet, Rochdale Town Hall, Saint Leonard's Middleton, Kartner Bar Vienna, Saint Martin's Marple, Sanatorium Perkersdorf......

Rochdale Town Hall

Literature

Ver Sacrum, Das Englische Haus, Academy Architecture, Moderne Bauformen, The Builders Journal, The Studio, The Hobby Horse .......

Detail from 'The Studio' 1898 showing some of Wood's furniture design

Movements and Organisations

The Secessionists, The Century Guild, Northern Art Workers Guild, Manchester Society of Architects, Birmingham Architectural Association......

Pattern detail by Kolo Moser co-founder of the Secessionists

Events

Century Guild Liverpool 1887, Manchester Royal Jubilee Exhibition 1887, Northern Art Workers Guild Exhibitions, Arts and Crafts Exhibition

Poster for the Northern Artworkers Guild Exhibition

There are so many and the relationships are so complex I have started a mindmap combined with a timeline

Edgar Wood Mindmap - showing relationships and influences

A small part of my Edgar Wood Timeline

With my brain buzzing with movements, people, ideologies and events I felt the urge to go back and photograph the interior of the school buildings attached to the Church. I felt that these buildings (more than the church itself) were in some way more expressive of Wood's development towards his exemplary contribution towards the modern movement.

I am sure that this is well known amongst the archi academics - but I had to somehow learn this for myself.

What has resulted is a series of images which have in turn taught me something about the architecture of Edgar Wood. I chose to display the images in black and white (not my usual choice) because of the advantage of black and white imagery to enhance form and line and reduce the visual impact of contemporary clutter. I wanted to connect with the freshness of the form and space as it would have been seen in 1901.

What I now see in the school buildings at Long Street is the transition between the "decorative sweetness of the C19th and the dry objectivity of the C20th". Here we have a strong influence of Mackintosh (via the European filter of the secessionists?) pared down into an English sensibility. 

Wood is almost unhampered in allowing the plan to dictate the form. It is the roof structure which is holding back the complete transition into unrestrained modernism.

It is wonderful when you witness the moment of an individual's discovery; and I suppose that it is appropriate that within the walls of Wood's unique contribution to architecture that I have had the same revelation.

Putting up the prints!

Putting up the prints!, originally uploaded by fotofacade.

I must be settling in to the new home - started putting up the prints :-)

pics are hereand here

A Basic Backgrounder in Architecture

Veronese Patterns and Textures, originally uploaded by fotofacade.

Whether you're an architecture student taking an architecture based course or just an interested party - here's the amazon links to recommended reading for a backgrounder in architecture - any other suggestions would be really welcome

A Visual Dictionary of Architecture
 - excellent images and great for learning about the theory of
architecture. One of my favourites.

Illustrated Handbook of Vernacular Architecture
 - The ultimate book on Vernacular Architecture in Britain - I met Mr
Brunskill once!

The Classical Language of Architecture (World of Art)
- John Summersons iconic book

Architecture in Britain, 1530-1830 (Yale University Press Pelican History of Art)
- Another iconic book from Summerson
 
Banister Fletcher's A History of Architecture
- If you have the money - then buy it - you won't be disappointed.

An Outline of European Architecture (Penguin art and architecture)
- Grand sweep of an outline -  beautifully written.

A History of Building Types (A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts)-
For the geeks amongst us
 
The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (Penguin Reference Books)
- Key reference book

The Elements of Style: An Encyclopedia of Domestic Architectural Detail (Mitchell Beazley Art & Design)

- Sumptuous and well referenced covers US and UK styles


A World History of Art-
Enormous amount of information in this book - you can't do without it.

Enlightenment Through Understanding

Some of the best people portraits are taken by photographer’s who understand the person behind the photo. Sometimes, you see that somehow the photographer has connected with the essence of the person being photographed. They have tapped into the subjects personality.

Well believe it or not, buildings have personalities too.

Buildings can communicate to us through their size, shape, material, space, and style.

When I go into the nave of an ancient church I feel different to when I walk into a supermarket aisle. It isn’t just the packet soup that makes the difference, it is also the way the building has been formed by its originators. There is an intention behind every building we see.

Armed with this knowledge and a little background understanding about architectural styles and history we can better inform our photography.

(taken from my architectural photography tips site here)

Here's someAmazon links to recommended reading for a backgrounder in architecture - any other suggestions would be really welcome

A Visual Dictionary of Architecture
- excellent images and great for learning about the theory of
architecture. One of my favourites.

Illustrated Handbook of Vernacular Architecture
- The ultimate book on Vernacular Architecture in Britain - I met Mr
Brunskill once!

The Classical Language of Architecture (World of Art)
- John Summersons iconic book

Architecture in Britain, 1530-1830 (Yale University Press Pelican History of Art)
- Another iconic book from Summerson

Banister Fletcher's A History of Architecture
- If you have the money - then buy it - you won't be disappointed.

An Outline of European Architecture (Penguin art and architecture)
- Grand sweep of an outline - beautifully written.

A History of Building Types (A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts)-
For the geeks amongst us

The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (Penguin Reference Books)
- Key reference book

The Elements of Style: An Encyclopedia of Domestic Architectural Detail (Mitchell Beazley Art & Design)

- Sumptuous and well referenced covers US and UK styles


A World History of Art-
Enormous amount of information in this book - you can't do without it.