Anneli Xie
Prof. Alice Friedman
ARTH 321: Gender, Sexuality, and the Design of Houses
2019/02/26
Prof. Alice Friedman
ARTH 321: Gender, Sexuality, and the Design of Houses
2019/02/26
Reading response: The Avant-garde in Paris and Utrecht
This week’s readings focuses on unusual programs – and their innovative solutions – of different homes of the avant-garde in Paris and Utrecht. Examining case studies such as the Schröder House and Villa Stein-de Monzie, a compelling case is made for the re-invention and/or re-definition of living through the designs of these buildings.
Friedman’s early chapters in Women and the Making of the Modern Home, examine the Schröder House and Villa Stein-de Monzie. Both houses are exemplary in the way that they redefined family life and the responsibilities of individuals to themselves and to each other. The Schröder House, designed for Truus Schröder and her three children after her husband passed away, was very much about Schröder’s personal values and her vision of family life, that had before been restricted by her husband’s opposing views. (76) “Truus wanted a home in which parents and children would be brought together in an open space, where conversations would be wide-ranging, and where focused activities, including the children’s schoolwork, might also be carried out. […] Her goal was to live her life in close association with her children, to be a part of their daily lives.” (74, 77) As a result, the Schröder house was designed with no static accumulation of rooms, but rather contained one big, open, and dynamic zone where both she and her children could take part in the exchange of ideas. (74) During the evening, the Schröder family could split the space up into separate rooms, using sliding walls to provide everyone with some privacy. Not only was this a new way of family life, but the Schröder House also helped create a “modern consciousness, a sense that daily life and values were staged,” (81) evocative of last week’s readings about performativity.
Similarly, the discussion of Villa Stein-de Monzie is interesting in its unusual program: four people would share the space – a couple (Michael and Sarah Stein), and a mother and her child (Madame de Monzie and her daughter). This meant that in addition to large shared spaces, there would have to be an equal emphasis (in design) on the Steins and the Monzies: “what was needed, in effect, was two private suites of equal size rather than the conventional arrangement of “master” bedroom with smaller quarters for children.” (111) As a result, Le Corbusier designed a house of “tension between symmetry and irregularity, both in plan and elevation,” (112) the most expensive house built by Le Corbusier in the 1920s. (116) Another interesting aspect about Villa Stein-de Monzie is that it became an architectonic representation of not only the unconventional balance of power between the Steins and de Monzie, but also of their religious beliefs as Christian scientists: “Corbusier’s highly legible, elemental architecture could be viewed as the material realization of the harmonies of Divine Mind.” (111)
Curtis in “Houses, Studios and Villas,” further examines Le Corbusier and Villa Stein-de Monzie, saying that it “canoniz[ed] ideals of modernism […yet] reaffirmed [his] commitment to constants in tradition,” and that “he knew that modernity only has value if it is rooted in the wisdom of the ancients, and that tradition is kept alive only by constant transformation.” (84) Curtis also brings up the important understanding of Corbusier’s values being “more class-bound than he might have hoped,” (71) speaking of the importance of Corbusier’s patrons, often involved in their art world (and thus inclined enough to make independent choices), for his design solutions and career. Going back to the idea of tradition being kept alive by constant transformation, another important point in Curtis’ essay is that modern architecture did not reject tradition or ornament, but rather re-interpreted it. (81)
Curtis, W. “Defining New types for the Industrial City” and “Houses, Studios and Villas” In Le Corbusier: Ideas and Forms. New York: Phaidon Press, 1991.
Frampton, Kenneth. “The Maison de Verre" In Perspecta, vol. 12. 1969: 77-109+111-128
Friedman, A. Chapter 2 and 3. In Women and the Making of the Modern House. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.
Friedman’s early chapters in Women and the Making of the Modern Home, examine the Schröder House and Villa Stein-de Monzie. Both houses are exemplary in the way that they redefined family life and the responsibilities of individuals to themselves and to each other. The Schröder House, designed for Truus Schröder and her three children after her husband passed away, was very much about Schröder’s personal values and her vision of family life, that had before been restricted by her husband’s opposing views. (76) “Truus wanted a home in which parents and children would be brought together in an open space, where conversations would be wide-ranging, and where focused activities, including the children’s schoolwork, might also be carried out. […] Her goal was to live her life in close association with her children, to be a part of their daily lives.” (74, 77) As a result, the Schröder house was designed with no static accumulation of rooms, but rather contained one big, open, and dynamic zone where both she and her children could take part in the exchange of ideas. (74) During the evening, the Schröder family could split the space up into separate rooms, using sliding walls to provide everyone with some privacy. Not only was this a new way of family life, but the Schröder House also helped create a “modern consciousness, a sense that daily life and values were staged,” (81) evocative of last week’s readings about performativity.
Similarly, the discussion of Villa Stein-de Monzie is interesting in its unusual program: four people would share the space – a couple (Michael and Sarah Stein), and a mother and her child (Madame de Monzie and her daughter). This meant that in addition to large shared spaces, there would have to be an equal emphasis (in design) on the Steins and the Monzies: “what was needed, in effect, was two private suites of equal size rather than the conventional arrangement of “master” bedroom with smaller quarters for children.” (111) As a result, Le Corbusier designed a house of “tension between symmetry and irregularity, both in plan and elevation,” (112) the most expensive house built by Le Corbusier in the 1920s. (116) Another interesting aspect about Villa Stein-de Monzie is that it became an architectonic representation of not only the unconventional balance of power between the Steins and de Monzie, but also of their religious beliefs as Christian scientists: “Corbusier’s highly legible, elemental architecture could be viewed as the material realization of the harmonies of Divine Mind.” (111)
Curtis in “Houses, Studios and Villas,” further examines Le Corbusier and Villa Stein-de Monzie, saying that it “canoniz[ed] ideals of modernism […yet] reaffirmed [his] commitment to constants in tradition,” and that “he knew that modernity only has value if it is rooted in the wisdom of the ancients, and that tradition is kept alive only by constant transformation.” (84) Curtis also brings up the important understanding of Corbusier’s values being “more class-bound than he might have hoped,” (71) speaking of the importance of Corbusier’s patrons, often involved in their art world (and thus inclined enough to make independent choices), for his design solutions and career. Going back to the idea of tradition being kept alive by constant transformation, another important point in Curtis’ essay is that modern architecture did not reject tradition or ornament, but rather re-interpreted it. (81)
References
Curtis, W. “Defining New types for the Industrial City” and “Houses, Studios and Villas” In Le Corbusier: Ideas and Forms. New York: Phaidon Press, 1991.
Frampton, Kenneth. “The Maison de Verre" In Perspecta, vol. 12. 1969: 77-109+111-128
Friedman, A. Chapter 2 and 3. In Women and the Making of the Modern House. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.