TECHNICAL

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Le Corbusiers
La RocheJeanneret
Houses
ISSUES OF RESTORATION
TIZIANO AGLIERI RINELLA

Recent studies, accomplished in 2005, resulted in

the implementation of a restoration dossier1 on Le Corbusiers
La Roche-Jeanneret houses in Paris (192325). The dossier
includes a detailed survey of the existing situation, the buildings
technical data and a documented chronology of all restoration,
maintenance and transformation work carried out on it.

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80

photo Boissonnas, FLC L2-12-74 FLC/ARS, 2008

TECHNICAL

Projet3: n37 84-91 Book review (E, AL)

Fig. 1. Le Corbusier, La Roche house, the hall, 1926

The aim of that work, implemented

upon request of the Le Corbusier
Foundation and developed under
the scientific direction of Bruno
Reichlin, was to draw up a model
of dossier, to be repeated, with
particular characteristics defined
according to the case, for any
existing building of Le Corbusier.
It should be considered as a
preliminary study, constantly
updatable, to be used for any future
project of restoration. Pierre-Antoine
Gatier, architect and director of
Historic Monuments, exploited these
cognitive premises for a project of
restoration of the La Roche house,
currently in progress. Gatier
completed the reference framework
requesting to the Le Corbusier
Foundation the execution of the
required stratigraphic assays, that
were impossible to carry out during
the dossiers implementation time.
His project, born from a simple
request of updating the La Roche
houses electric plant to current

standards, was afterwards extended

to the whole architectural body of
the house, taking into consideration
various aspects of the building
materiality and attempting to
provide fair responses to the
revealed contradictions.

restoration dossier there is a

technical part on the matter of the
building and its constructive system,
as well as a further part dedicated
to the window frames.
RESTORATION
AND

WORKS

MAIN

SITUATION

MODIFICATIONS

The restoration dossier supplies an

organic chart of the existing
buildings situation. To achieve this
aim, every archive source of the
Le Corbusier Foundation was used,
including the recent current
archives.2 These records gather all
the documents related to any kind
of work executed on the building,
from when it was occupied by the
Foundation (in 1970) to today.
The available data was integrated
and verified through interviews
of witnesses and people in charge
of the works.
Besides the survey and the
chronology of the restoration works,
amongst the contents of the

The most relevant restoration work

carried out on the La RocheJeanneret houses was directed by
Christian Gimonet, first director of
the Le Corbusier Foundation, in
1970. The goal was to restore3
the La Roche house to open it to
the public, and to refurbish the
Jeanneret house, to host the offices
and the archives of the Foundation.
Many modifications done as part of
this work are so well aged and
camouflaged that they have caused
misunderstandings, even for some
experts. For example, a picture of
the internal courtyard, published
in some books, was sometimes
indicated as an instance of the

Docomomo N39
September 2008

Projet3: n37 84-91 Book review (E, AL)

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rules, it was necessary to

completely remake the circuits.
Therefore, it was decided to leave
the original brass switches
(considered as icons of a modern
aesthetics) in place, without
electrical current, bypassing them
with new wiring and switches.
In 1986, it was necessary to
replace the original linoleum
flooring of the gallery.8 Finding
a material with the same
characteristics was a very difficult
task. After a long inquiry, a similar
one was found, but with a slight
difference in the color.9
Unfortunately, the supplier was
unable to produce a unique,

TECHNICAL

Fig. 2. Le Corbusier, the hall under construction, 1924, 1926

81

FLC L2-12-22 FLC/ARS, 2008

An important transformation took

place in 1975, when the
Foundation required some more
space for the microfilm room.
A door was opened in the partition
wall between the Jeanneret living
room (already used as library) and
the La Roche bedroom, which was
occupied by the Foundation.6
This had a disrupting effect on
the principle of the architectural
promenade, applied by
Le Corbusier in this project,7 which
was now broken in its continuity.
Indeed, people who today follow

Page 81

the promenade, go along the

narrow corridor at the third floor,
forced between the wall and the
very low balustrade, find a closed
door, and are unable to enter. This
minimalist space was important in
the overall design concept because
it represented the conclusion of
the display path of the La Roche
collection, completely dedicated
only to the purist paintings of
Le Corbusier and Ozenfant.
Another problem related to the
safety regulations occurred in
1984, when it was no longer
possible to avoid the issues linked
to the electric system. At that time,
because of the tightening of safety

influence of the de stijl movement

on this building, because of its
composition of orthogonal plans.
In point of fact, this place was
considerably modified by Gimonet
in 1970, and that opened the
passage between the courtyards of
the two houses.4 On that occasion
he also added the canopy, that,
indeed, is absent in the historical
photos.5
A wide number of small
modifications of differing
importance were carried out at that
time. Among them, one could
remember the demolition of
the toilets and some partition walls
on the second floor of the Jeanneret
house, in order to create the
meeting room of the Foundation,
enlarging one of Lotti Raafs
daughters rooms.
Further issues Gimonet had to
confront in 1970 were the safety
regulations. Indeed, according to
the rules of the time, the height of
the hall handrails was insufficient
to open the La Roche house to
the public. The matter was difficult,
because any transformation could
compromise the authenticity of
Le Corbusiers architecture.
Fortunately, on that occasion,
the Foundation was able to obtain
derogation from the relevant
authority. This was not possible for
the roof garden, because of the
absence of handrails on a part of
it. So, since that time, the roof is
inaccessible to the public, and
people who go up the staircase of
the La Roche house to the last ramp
are stopped behind a closed
glazed door.

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Regarding the window frames, from

the chronology of the works carried
out in the restoration dossier we
are able to discern which windows
are still original and which ones
were modified or replaced over
time. An accurate survey of each
type of window was accomplished,
and the different kinds of restoration
work carried out were identified.10
One could assert that, for the La
Roche-Jeanneret houses, there never
was an overall restoration work on
the totality of the frames, but just
many single works for groups or
types of windows. Generally,
wooden parts were more frequently
the object of restoration/replacement,
because of their fragility. As an
example, in the square windows on
the second floor of the front faade,
all the wooden parts were replaced
by Jean-Louis Veret in 1981.11
The steel parts of the frames were
just restored, but not replaced. In
that time, however, those soft steel
frames, typical of the early modern
architecture, were commonly in
production in France. Consequently,
if required, it was possible to
replace some broken parts with new
ones.12 One of the original wooden
parts of the frames was found in the
cellar of the Foundation, conserved
in the underground archives.
The frame was too badly damaged
to make a survey with common
measurement instruments, therefore
some clay moulds were used to
obtain a profile that allowed
redrawing it.
The only completely original square
window was found in a corner of

photo Boissonnas, FLC L2-12-74 FLC/ARS, 2008

monolithic, continuous surface like

the original. Thus, the flooring was
put in place in different pieces,
attached with thin joints. A piece of
the original flooring, conserved in
the archives of the Foundation, is
trustworthy evidence of the old
color. Even the fitment under the
ramp was restored in that period,
under the supervision of its original
designer Charlotte Perriand, who
was, at that time, a member of the
Le Corbusier Foundation.
The evidence of the restoration work
is on the fitments top, covered with
the same material used for the
gallery floor.

Fig. 3. Le Corbusier, La Roche house, the internal courtyard, 1926

FLC/ARS, 2008

TECHNICAL

Projet3: n37 84-91 Book review (E, AL)

Fig. 4. Le Corbusier, the internal courtyard, current state

the building between the gallery

wing and the entrance of La Roche
house. Its position, protected from
bad weather, helped to preserve it
Docomomo N39
September 2008

and keep its originality. Among

the restoration work carried out in
the other types of windows, one can
take as an example the ribbon

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FLC 15191 FLC/ARS, 2008

TECHNICAL

Fig. 5. Le Corbusier, details of window sills and frames

window of the La Roche dining

room. In that frame, the wooden
base was replaced, as well as the
thin wooden frame used to block
the glass to the main frame of the
window. The other wooden and
steel parts, according to the
sources, should be original, except
for the window locks that were
replaced with replicas in 2000.13

THE

P O LY C H R O M I E S

Regarding the interior polychromy,

very few works are actually
documented. Even if many traces
of repainting work were found in
the archives, it is impossible to
understand exactly on which
surface the work have been done.
In order to achieve more detailed
information on the original state of
the polychromy in 1925, taking
into account even the first
modifications carried out by
Le Corbusier in the gallery in 1928
and 1936, it is necessary to
examine the results of the
stratigraphic assays. One should
immediately specify, nevertheless,
that these assays are currently in
progress, and further investigations
and laboratory verifications are
necessary. The first series of assays,
indeed, has given just a
fragmentary and incomplete chart,
therefore considered so far not fully
reliable by the Le Corbusier
Foundation. Before officially
confirming the results, the
Foundation is waiting for the

FAADES

Regarding the faades, in 1970

Gimonet had to deal with the
problem of choosing the right color
tonality. In that time,14 the faades
were very dirty and ruined, so it
was very difficult to understand
which coat was the original color,
as the exterior coat was not the
original. The testimonies gave
different versions. After a long
inquiry, he decided to apply a coat
of Polistrat, a synthetic paint made

like a thin film attached to the wall.

The color of this coat was cold
white, and its surface perfectly
smooth, so, according to the
common opinion, respectful of the
aesthetics of purism. Unfortunately
this Polistrat coat made the wall
unable to transpire, and this caused
serious and continuous damage to
the interior polychromies, so that
the Foundation was forced to
repaint the interiors very often.
This synthetic coat was completely
removed only in 2001.15
Lotti Raaf asserted, in a letter of
1970,16 that the original mortar
was mixed with stone powder, and

Fig. 6. Le Corbusier, La Roche house, details of window frames

FLC 15192 FLC/ARS, 2008

THE

outcome of an additional series of

assays to be implemented on the
La Roche house.

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from LArchitecture Vivante (ditions Albert Moranc, Fall 1927) FLC/ARS, 2008

TECHNICAL

Projet3: n37 84-91 Book review (E, AL)

Fig. 7. Alfred Roth, Weissenhoff houses, detail of the roof garden and balustrade, the same used for the La Roche-Jeanneret ones

84

ISSUES

OF

RESTORATION

A restoration project should

confront several unsolved problems
of the La Roche houses current
state. First of all, it is indispensable
to look at the principles that
Le Corbusier put in his project. Today
indeed, after many modifications
have been carried out, some of
these principles currently appear
deprived of their original sense and
forgotten. As Le Corbusier affirms in
the uvre Complte, the main
principle applied in the design of
the La Roche house was the
architectural promenade, mostly
coincident with the display path of
the art collection. The hanging of

art and the sculpture arrangement

of 1926, indeed, were also
prepared by Le Corbusier, following
specific programmatic rules and
taking care of a thoughtful balance
between works of art and
architectural spaces. Thus, a
restoration project should take into
consideration the reinstatement of
the principle of the promenade,
restoring its last episode, the La
Roches bedroom, in its original
shape. An unsettled issue,
unfortunately, will be the absence of
the La Roche art collection (today
owned by the Kunstsammlung of
Basel), which significantly
influenced the design of
the architectural spaces.
A further open problem is, in this
context, the possible reinstatement
of the original furniture. If some
original pieces could be found in
the antique trade market of the
early twentieth century, a remake of
some particular furniture customdesigned by Le Corbusier may be
possible from the original detail
drawings.
Docomomo N39
September 2008

Another issue concerns the interior

polychromies. For their restoration,
one shouldnt simply restore just the
oldest paint layer found in the
assays, but also to implement a
correct interpretation of the rules
used by Le Corbusier in their
Fig. 8. Le Corbusier,
La Roche house, brass switches

photo Jess Villanueva FLC/ARS, 2008

it appeared as a raw coating, with

a warm color, completely different
from the cold and smooth white that
exists today. This may be confirmed
by the current stratigraphic assays,17
that are attempting to discover, with
many difficulties, some residual
traces of the original mortar
(removing the Polistrat layer had
removed all the layers underneath).

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Page 85

a derogation from the regulation

issues preventing the public to have
access to the roof terrace. The
balustrade height of the terrace,
indeed, is not adequate according
to the current French law.
Moreover, a part of the terrace,
over the hall and the gallery roof,
is completely without handrails and
definitely will never be open to
the public. An appropriate solution
should be agreed to by the
architect, taking into consideration
the different instances.
In conclusion, as seen, the range
of matters to confront with the
restoration project is quite wide.
The status of institutional protection
of the La Roche-Jeanneret house
engages in its safeguard a large
number of players that will control
each stage of the restoration,
sharing decisional responsibility.
Thus, some good premises are
arising to restore this early
masterpiece of Le Corbusier to
new life.

from the Restoration Dossier FLC/ARS, 2008

Fig. 9. Tiziano Aglieri Rinella, window survey of the La Roche dining room

Docomomo N39
September 2008

TIZIANO AGLIERI RINELLA,

architect, has carried out a PhD thesis
on Restoration of Modern Architecture:
La Roche-Jeanneret House, a Case Study
of Le Corbusier. His work is currently
under publication in Italy: Le Case
La Roche-Jeanneret di Le Corbusier
Riflessioni per un Progetto di Restauro
(Rome: Officina Edizioni, 2008).
[email protected]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

TECHNICAL

choice. Indeed, as Le Corbusier

himself affirmed18 regarding the
La Roche house, at the beginning
he often proceeded in many
changes of the interior colors,
testing empirically the color effect
on the walls surface. A further
related problem to confront, today,
is the choice of the right kind of
paint. The original paint used in
1925 was a glue and oil paint that
allowed a matte and warm color
effect to be obtained, but was
extremely fragile. Its use today is
inappropriate; because of the
intense flow of visitors of the
La Roche house, it would lead to
frequent repainting work. Therefore,
it will be necessary to carefully
define the choices, in a thorough
decision-making process that will
involve, besides the Le Corbusier
Foundation, experts and officials of
the French Ministry of Culture.
A particularly difficult task is
the negotiation with the relevant
authorities that could allow, as
in the past, the attainment of

28/08/08

AA. VV. The Le Corbusier Archive. New

York and London: Garland, 19824.
AGLIERI RINELLA, TIZIANO. Le Case
La Roche-Jeanneret di Le Corbusier
Riflessioni per un Progetto di Restauro.
Rome: Officina Edizioni, 2008.
BENTON, TIM. La Rocca in Katarina Schmid
and Hartwig Fischer (eds.), Ein Haus
fr den Kubismus, Die Sammlung Raoul
La Roche. Ostfildern-Ruit: Hatje, 1998.
BENTON, TIM. Les Villas de Le Corbusier
19201939. Paris: Sers, 1987. English
edition: Villas of Le Corbusier 19201930.
Yale: Yale University Press, 1990.
GIMONET, CHRISTIAN. Restoration of Buildings
of Le Corbusier, in Docomomo Conference
Proceedings (1990), 276.
LE CORBUSIER. uvre Complte 19101929,
vol. 1. Basel: Birkhauser, 1929.
REICHLIN, BRUNO. Le Corbusier vs De Stijl
in De Stijl et lArchitecture en France,
exhibition catalogue directed by Yve-Alain
Bois and Bruno Reichlin. Lige, Brussels:

85

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Page 86

from the Restoration Dossier FLC/ARS, 2008

TECHNICAL

Projet3: n37 84-91 Book review (E, AL)

86

Fig. 10. Le Corbusier, La Roche-Jeanneret houses, front faade, Paris, built 19235

Mardaga, 1985.
RUEGG, ARTHUR. Polychromie Architecturale.
Basel: Birkhauser, 1998.
SBRIGLIO, JACQUES. Le Corbusier. Les Villas
La Roche-Jeanneret. Basel, Boston, Berlin:
FLC/Birkhauser, 1997.
VON MOOS, STANISLAUS. Album La Roche
Le Corbusier. Milan: Electa, 1996.
NOTES

1 Annexes of Vincenzo Tiziano Aglieri

Rinella, PhD thesis Il Restauro del Moderno:
la Villa La Roche-Jeanneret di
Le Corbusier, tutors: Prof. Bruno Reichlin
(IAUG, University of Geneva) and Prof.
Pasquale Culotta; Dottorato in Progettazione
Architettonica, Dipartimento di Storia
e Progetto nellArchitettura dellUniversit
di Palermo, XVI ciclo, 20014.
2 The so-called archives vivantes,
of the FLC, not recorded yet. An index
of these documents, implemented by
the author, is included in the annexes his
PhD tesi. Cf. Aglieri Rinella, Il Restauro
del Moderno.
3 Christian Gimonet, Restoration of
Buildings of Le Corbusier, in Docomomo
Conference Proceedings (1992): 276.
See also FLC H 1-2-411.
4 FLC 15298; confirmed by the interview
of Christian Gimonet, 22 May 2003.
5 Photo Boissonnas, 1926. Dossier
La Roche, FLC.
6 In the Le Corbusier Foundation archives,
no documents concerning this modification

have been found. By the interviews, one

know that the wall had to be still intact
on 1973 (interview of Christian Gimonet),
and the door was probably open between
1975 and 1976, on the occasion of
the inauguration of the microfilm room
(interview of Evelyne Trehn, past director
of the FLC).
7 Le Corbusier, uvre Complte 191029,
vol. 1 (Basel: Birkhuser, 1929), 60.
8 Cost estimate of SIS company, 5
December 1986, and related invoice of 30
March 1987, in current unrecorded archives
of the FLC: file Travaux Divers 197993,
dossier: Galerie La Roche: Revtement
du Sol 1986.
9 Recently found by Gatiers staff.
10 Aglieri Rinella, Il Restauro del Moderno,
annexes.
11 Current unrecorded archives of
the FLC: file Travaux Divers 197993,
dossier Travaux de Rfection Huisseries
et Peinture Villas La Roche Jeanneret
197981: cost estimate (approved by
the FLC) of Guguin, Touzot & C, 8
December 1980, replacement of frames
lidentique des menuiseries existantes
(similar to the original ones); confirmed
by the interview of Jean-Louis Veret
(December 2003).
12 Interview of Jean-Louis Veret (December
2003).
13 In 2000 many of the window locks
were broken, and it was impossible to find
the same kind on the market, so an original
Docomomo N39
September 2008

brass lock was taken to a workshop to make

a mould so as to reproduce some new ones.
Current unrecorded archives
of the FLC: file Ravalement Villas
La Roche-Jeanneret, dossier Entreprises
19992002, sub-dossier: Serrurerie Ets
Petit 2000.
14 Gimonet, Restoration of Buildings
of Le Corbusier.
15 Current unrecorded archives of the FLC
file Ravalement Villas La Roche-Jeanneret.
16 Le Corbusier made a mortar of cement
mixed with powder of stone, which made
the surface slightly wrinkled and with
a sand-yellowish color of a very beautiful
effect, warmer than this cold and sterile
white. Letter of Lotti Raaf to the Le
Corbusier Foundation, 22 December 1970,
FLC.
17 Interview of Ariel Bertrand (July 2007).
18 Arthur Ruegg, Le Corbusier Polychromie
Architecturale (Basel: Birkhauser, 1998).

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TECHNICAL

Fig. 11. Tiziano Aglieri

Rinella, La Roche-Jeanneret
houses, ground floor, current state,
survey, May 2003
FLC/ARS, 2008

Fig. 12. Tiziano Aglieri

Rinella, La Roche-Jeanneret
houses, first floor, current state,
survey, May 2003
FLC/ARS, 2008

87

Fig. 13. Tiziano Aglieri

Rinella, La Roche-Jeanneret
houses, second floor, current state,
survey, May 2003
FLC/ARS, 2008

Fig. 14. Tiziano Aglieri

Rinella, La Roche-Jeanneret
houses, roof and garden,
current state, survey, May 2003
FLC/ARS, 2008
Docomomo N39
September 2008

kt.COLOR

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OUR

28/08/08

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16:23

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