This seminar paper examines the role of light in shaping space in Villa Savoye (1928–1931) by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, and E-1027 (1926–1929) by Eileen Gray and Jean Badovici. The aim of the paper is to explore how light in both cases transcends the function of illumination and becomes an important factor in the organisation of volume, openness and spatial dynamics. The analysis shows that Le Corbusier uses light in Villa Savoye primarily to emphasise geometry, volume and movement through space, while Eileen Gray connects light in E-1027 more closely to the inhabitant’s experience of living and adapts it to time, mood and surroundings. Both houses emerge from the shared modernist programme of openness, light and health, yet interpret these ideas in different ways. The paper is based on an art-historical approach of formal analysis supported by historical context.
|