This document provides information on several architectural projects designed by Hari K.G.Nambiar including: - Villa Savoie at Poissy from 1929-1931, with an upper level dwelling and hanging garden positioned above columns. - The Sarabhai House in Ahmedabad from 1955, oriented for winds with a brise-soliel facade and vaulted ceilings. - The Shodhan house in Ahmedabad from 1956, with a brise-soliel elevation, roof parasol, and three apartments on the top level. It also briefly describes projects by Le Corbusier such as the Unité d'Habitation in Marseille from 1947-1952, which allowed him to experiment

1. Architect/Planner Hari K.G.Nambiar

2. Villa Savoie at Poissy,1929-31

3. Villa Savoie at Poissy
 The house was not to have a front, situated at the top
of the dome-like rise of a pasture it had to open to all
directions. The dwelling level with its hanging garden
is positioned above the columns in such a way as to
permit distant views to the horizon.
 Between the columns, on the ground floor, are the
vehicular circulation, domestic services and the
garage. The entrance is in the middle, between the
columns and a very slightly inclined ramp leads to the
upper level.

4. Villa Savoie at Poissy

5. Villa Savoie at Poissy, the roof
garden

6. “Clarte” Apartment in Geneva,
1930-32; 45 apartments with double floor
heights; a steel structure columns, beams & windows

7. The Sarabhai House at Ahmedabad,
1955
 Oriented to winds and
façade furnished with
brise-soliel in brick &
concrete.
 Structure : Catalanian
vaults: cradle vaults of flat
tiles set in plaster without
formwork, coupled with a
row of bricks cast roughly
in cement . These half-
cylinders are carried to the
walls by the intermediary
of a rough concrete lintel

8. The Sarabhai House at Ahmedabad,
Plans

9. The Sarabhai House at Ahmedabad

10. Dr.Curretchet’s house at La Plata,1949

11. Dr.Curretchet’s house at La Plata
 The site is surrounded on three sides by walls and
facing onto an avenue with a boulevard and a green
park. A view of the park was important so a roof
garden was created to enjoy sun, light & sky.
 There is a R.C.C. brise-soliel designed in accordance
with the angle & direction of the sun at this latitude.

12. Dr.Curretchet’s house at La Plata,
Plans

13. Dr.Curretchet’s house at La Plata

14. The Shodhan house at Ahmedabad,
1956, Plans

15. The Shodhan house at Ahmedabad
 A brise-soliel elevation
and a roof parasol. The
raw concrete of the
facades, with the rough
finish of the wooden
shuttering.
 There are three
apartments on the top
level.

16. The Shodhan house at Ahmedabad

17. Ahmedabad Millowners Association
Building 1954,Plan

18. Ahmedabad Millowners Association
Building
 Oriented to wind, the east and west facades have brise-
soliel. The North and South facades are constructed of
unplastered brick ; the East and West facades are of
raw unfinished concrete; the brise-soliel are clad in
wood, and the walls in sheet metal
 The assembly hall is constructed of double thin brick
walls panelled in wood.

19. Ahmedabad Millowners Association
Building

20. Design for the Palace of the League
of Nations, Geneva
 The international panel of architects that assessed the
competition held in 1927 for the Palace of the League of Nations
for which there were 377 entries. This scheme was awarded the
first prize & recommended its definite adoption, inspite of which
this particular scheme was put aside and the actual commission
for carrying out the building was awarded to four academic
architects.
 There was public outrage over this as this scheme was forward
thinking. It incorporated entirely new technical solutions in the
Office Wing, an acoustically perfect assembly hall, both
horizontal & vertical means of communication within the
building, modern systems of heating & ventilation, rational
access for motor cars and adequate parking. The idea of a palace
constructed of reinforced concrete was then unprecedented.

21. Design for the Palace of the League
of Nations, Geneva

22. Design for the Palace of the League
of Nations, Geneva

23. The Centrosoyus Building in
Moscow 1929
 The program involved provision of modern offices for 3500
employees, communal facilities such as restaurant , lecture
halls, theater, club, physical culture, etc.
 The building was in reinforced concrete, with in-filling
walls of red tuff stone from Caucasus. These stones of 16 in.
thickness were to serve as thermal insulation between an
outside temperature of -40*F and an interior at 66*F.
 The principle of “ respiration exacte”(air-conditioning)
which had been devised especially for this building was not
accepted by the Russian authorities. This principle was
eventually executed in the Salvation Army Refuge in Paris.

24. The Centrosoyus Building in
Moscow 1929

25. The Centrosoyus Building in
Moscow 1929

26. Palace of the Soviets in Moscow
1931
 The program called for an immense complex of halls,
offices, libraries, restaurants, etc : an auditorium for 15,000
spectators for massive productions, with a stage capable of
accomodating 1500 actors and a considerable amount of
scenery. The hall annexe was to be quite extensive: first the
cloak-rooms(due to snowfall in Moscow) and the
vestibules, all sorts of lounges and restaurants. A very exact
network of circulation permitting the various categories of
spectators access to their respective locations:
ambassadors, foreign press, Soviet press, extensive
accomodations for the actors.
 In addition there had to be a way for long lines of people
coming from outside to cross over the stage and then make
their exit, once having made their appearance.

27. Palace of the Soviets in Moscow

28. Palace of the Soviets in Moscow

29. Palace of the Soviets in Moscow

30. The Swiss Home at the Citi
Universitaire in Paris 1930-32
 This project was entrusted without a competition by
the Committee of Swiss Universities to Le Corbusier &
Pierre Jeanneret who first refused to accept it ,as the
experience in the League of Nations competition was
not forgotten by them. Nevertheless , at the insistence
of the Swiss authorities they accepted the project.

31. The Swiss Home at the Citi Universitaire
in Paris

32. The Swiss Home at the Citi Universitaire
in Paris

33. The Swiss Home at the Citi Universitaire
in Paris

34. Salvation Army Refuge in Paris
1929
 It is the first building for human habitation entirely
hermetically sealed, comprising 10,000sq.ft. of
fenestration without opening sash, the entire building
is air-conditioned.
 The construction is of reinforced concrete: a frame of
concrete columns & slabs with hollow terra-cotta wall
& floor units. The columns rest on reinforced concrete
piles driven to a depth of 36-45 ft, the sub-surface was
instable, being subject to the underground waters of
the Siene.

35. Salvation Army Refuge in Paris

36. Salvation Army Refuge in Paris

37. Apartment-house in Algiers
 The building is located on a site characteristic of this
hill-side city. A primary proposal: there should be a
municipal regulation obliging all buildings along the
boulevard paralleling the bay to be constructed on
columns, thus leaving the ground-floor entirely free
so as to allow the inhabitants of Algiers an
unobstructed view to the sea.
 A second feature of this building is the arrangement of
the “ brise-soliel” on the south & west facades.

38. Apartment-house in Algiers 1933

39. Apartment-house in Algiers

40. The Cartesian Skyscraper 1938
 This type of administration building had its sources in
the first sketches for “I’ Esprit-Noveau” in 1919. The
cruciform skyscraper does not receive sunlight on its
North side as the cruciform plan has 2 axes which does
not adapt itself to the path of the sun which has only
one axis.
 As a result, a new form was introduced: the “chicken-
claw” form.

41. The Cartesian Skyscraper

42. The Cartesian Skyscraper

43. The skyscraper of the “Quartier de
la Marine” at Algiers 1938-42
 The Algier’s municipal planning efforts being taken
further, this urbanistic solution was transformed to its
present form by the Master Plan of 1942.
 The skyscraper the glass façade with sunbreakers
keeping out the summer sun & letting in the winter
sun.
 Transport planning of the building & parking.

44. The skyscraper of the “Quartier de
la Marine” at Algiers

45. Ministry of National Education and
Public Health at Rio de Janierio 1936-45
 In 1936 Le Corbusier was called in by the committee of
architects charged with the construction of the
Ministry of National Education and Public Health.
 The brise-soliel helped in this case as the
orientation of the building was not ideal due to
site conditions.
 Corbusier made use of local gray & rose-coloured
granite for the end walls of the building & the
immense paved area.

46. Ministry of National Education and
Public Health at Rio de Janierio
 North Elevation

47. The UNO Buildings on the East
river, New York 1947
 Le Corbusier was designated as the first of the ten
experts after being part of the Site Commission, in
setting up the seat of UNO in the United States.
 A discussion of this committee of ten on Corbusiers
proposal which is the model 23A , which consists of
three buildings the Secretariat 200m high, the General
Assemblies block and the future annexe for General
Agencies.
 However Le Corbusier was not invited to take part in
the realisation of this work.

48. The UNO Buildings on the East
river, New York

49. The concours for 800 apartments
at Strassberg 1951
 The programme required the construction of 800
dwellings on an enclosed site. Le Corbusier’s project
comprised two similar Unites d’habitation, each with
400 dwellings and also a group of 100 small dwellings
in a cylindrical tower: although more dwellings were
provided than the programme required, less than 6%
of the site area was built over. The Unites covering as
little as 2%. 93% of the area remained free for a park, a
school, a stadium, a swimming pool, a sports ground &
garages. The cost was estimated at some millions less
than the programme stipulated.

50. The concours for 800 apartments
at Strassberg

51. The concours for 800 apartments
at Strassberg

52. The Factory of St.Die 1946-51
 Elements pertaining to modern architecture contained
in this scheme:
 1. it is proportioned entirely by the Modulor;
 2. the section is strongly expressed
 3. the ceilings wood work, plumbing etc. are intensely
colored

53. The Factory of St.Die ; Plans

54. The Factory of St.Die

55. L’ Unite d’habitation a Marseille
1947-52
 This project was awarded to Corbusier in the summer of 1945 by the Minister of
Reconstruction, he was given all liberties & freedom to try out his ideas on
modern middle-income housing. The then current problems were:
 1. Determination of the dwelling(bachelors, couples, families of different sizes);
 2. prefabrication of the elements of the dwelling;
 3. independent structural frame;
 4. questions of lighting & sunshine;
 5. extensions of the dwelling
 6. facilities for communal services
 The first study was made for the terrain of La Madrague, dominating the port
of Marseilles: it comprised three bldgs. offering a wide variety of apartments in
respect to quality, size & function. The second study was made for the
Boulevard Michelet, a prolongation of the Prado, a site in a well-to-do
neighbourhood.
 Each apartment has a view of the landscape in the foreground & the
captivating horizon.
 The buildings had sun-louvres his well studied solution.

56. L’ Unite d’habitation a Marseille

57. L’ Unite d’habitation a Marseille

58. L’ Unite d’habitation a Marseille

59. L’ Unite d’habitation a Marseille

60. Unite d’habitation of Nantes-Reze
1952-53

61. Unite d’habitation of Nantes-Reze
 This was not an experimental building for the
government but a commission received directly from
the future occupants of the building. Economy was of
paramount importance & strictness in this project.
 The concept was a system of “ Shoe Boxes”, each
apartment is an independent box of prestressed
concrete having no contact with its neighbours.

62. Unite d’habitation of Nantes-Reze

63. L’ Unite d’habitation a Berlin
1956-58

64. L’ Unite d’habitation a Berlin
1956-58

65. La maison du Bresil a la Cite Universitaire de
Paris 1957-59 (Brasilian Student House)

66. La maison du Bresil a la Cite
Universitaire de Paris

67. Youth and Cultural Center in
Firminy 1956-65

68. Youth and Cultural Center in Firminy

69. French Embassy in Brasilia 1964-65

70. French Embassy in Brasilia

71. Visual Arts Center, Cambridge,
Mass., USA 1961-64
 The building is an example of Corbusier’s brutalism.
The supervision of the project was in the hands Jose
Luis Sert and his associates in Cambridge,
Massachussets. There are free standing structural
columns on each of the five floors and brise-soliel.
 This is Corbusier’s only building in the United States.

72. Visual Arts Center, Cambridge,
Mass., USA

73. Visual Arts Center, Cambridge,
Mass., USA

74. Visual Arts Center, Cambridge,
Mass., USA

75. Museum of Unlimited extension
1939

76. Museum of Unlimited extension
1939
 Built on columns, the
entrance at ground level
is in the center of the
building complex where
the main hall is located.

77. Museum Ahmedabad 1954
 The museum is on a pilotis through which the
building is entered into an open court from which a
ramp , open to sky ,leads to the exhibition levels. One
enters the main level in a nave of spiral squares 14
metres wide, consisting of 7x7m structural bays.
 The museum is not limited in respect to growth and
therefore the 50x50m sides (2500sq.m.) can be
extended to 84x84m(7000sq.m.).

78. Museum Ahmedabad 1954

79. Museum Ahmedabad 1954

80. The Tokyo Museum 1957-59
 The impressionist art (both painting & sculpture)
collection of a wealthy Japanese resident. The Japanese
government comissioned Le Corbusier for this project.
They provided a site in a park already occupied by the
Museums of Natural History, of Fine Arts, of Science,
etc. The site is covered with beautiful trees located on
the edge of a plateau overlooking Tokyo.
 Corbusier installed on this site a version of the “
square spiral museum”, accompanied with a Pavilion
for Temporary Exhibitions, and a building dedicated to
theatre – thus a cultural centre.

81. The Tokyo Museum

82. The Tokyo Museum

83. The Tokyo Museum

84. The Chapel of Ron Champ 1950-54

85. The Chapel of Ron Champ
 The roof consists of two concrete membranes seperated by a space of
6’11” forming a shell, which is insulating & watertight. The roof is
supported by short struts, which form part of a vertical surface of
concrete covered with “gunnite”. These walls without buttresses follow,
in plan, the curvilinear forms calculated to provide stability to this
rough masonry. A space of several centimetres between the shell of the
roof and the vertical envelope of the walls furnishes a significant entry
for daylight.
 The floor of the chapel follows the natural slope of the hill down
towards the altar. The floor is constructed of a cement paving poured in
place between battens.
 The towers are constructed of stone masonry and are capped by cement
domes. The vertical elements of the Chapel are surfaced with mortar
sprayed on with a cement gun and then whitewashed - both on the
interior & exterior. The concrete shell of the roof is left rough
,highlighting the roughness of the shuttering.

86. The Chapel of Ron Champ

87. The Chapel of Ron Champ
 Watertightness is effected
by a built-up roofing with
an external cladding of
aluminium. On the
interior the walls are white
; the ceiling grey and the
benches of African wood.
Daylighting is provided by
a system of openings
covered with clear glass
,and in places ,with colored
glass

88. The Chapel of Ron Champ, North
facade

89. The Chapel of Ron Champ, the
West facade

90. The Chapel of Ron Champ-
Axonometric view

91. The Convent of La Tourette1957-60
 Located at Eveux-sur-Arbresle, near Lyon; located in a small vale
that opens out onto a forest. The buildings contain sleeping
rooms for teachers & students, study halls , a hall for work and
one for recreation, a library and a refectory.
 On two levels ,the loggias crowning the building form brise-
soleil. The study halls ,work and recreation halls and library
occupy the upper level. Below are the refectory and the cloister
in the form of a cross leading to the church. The piles carrying
the four convent buildings can be seen rising from the original
terrain left in its original condition without terracing.
 The building is in R.C.C.. The panes of the glass located on the
three exterior faces achieve for the first time, the system called:
“the undulatory glass surface”.

92. The Convent of La Tourette- South
facade

93. The Convent of La Tourette-Plan

94. The Convent of La Tourette-Plan

95. The Convent of La Tourette- West
Elevation

96. Town Planning- La ville radieuse

97. La Cite Industrielle