Overlapping Narratives of Domestic Space 0
1
2
3
4
5
10 m
6.21 Plan of the roof garden of the Penthouse, 24 Rue Nungesser et Coli (1933).
Reorientation
Guarded by a series of “objects that provoke a poetic reaction” the spiral stair in the vestibule is painted black on its outer edges, but its treads are light, illuminated from above. The circle of the stair contrasts with the square space within which it sits, again in a play of opposites – the special qualities of each form felt most strongly when set against the other ( Fig. 6.21). It has no guard rail, just a simple pole at the centre of the spiral, meaning that it has much of the quality of one of Le Corbusier’s precarious stairs, designed to awaken a consciousness of space and of danger ( Fig. 6.22) giving access to the spare bedroom and the tiny roof garden above ( Fig. 6.22). Culmination
In the photos in the Œuvre Complète, emphasis is placed upon the view across the lantern to the roof garden, which itself acts as a frame for views of the sky, but there is a conspicuous lack of climax to the route, beyond the overwhelming sensation of light and space that occurs in any rooftop haven. The view instead is bounced back into the boundaries of the little, seemingly square, garden contributing strongly to the hermetic sense of the whole.14( Fig. 6.23) The penthouse at 24 Rue Nungesser et Coli was built at a point of transition in Le Corbusier’s architecture between the “white” buildings of his early career and the later more brutalist work. It also marks a transition in his thinking on the promenade, heralding a tendency that would reach its most extreme expression in La Tourette, in which the aim is to create continuity with the inner world of the people who live there. The penthouse is entered upon a hinge. From here two equal but opposing routes can be accessed, one through the living space and one through the studio, each given a staccato rhythm by the beams of the
14 See for an expansion of this discussion Flora Samuel, “Le Corbusier, Women, Nature and Culture”, Issues in Art and Architecture, 5, 2 (1998), pp.1–17.
139