La Roche House Paris

Constructed between 1923 and 1925 by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, the La Roche House represents an exceptional architectural undertaking. Its originality lies in the unification it forges between two different spaces, each serving a different function: an art gallery on one hand and, on the other, the private apartments of the resident and collector, Raoul La Roche.
The La Roche House occupies the end of the Docteur Blanche cul-de-sac in Paris's 16th arrondissement, a neighborhood under development at the time. The use of new construction materials allowed Le Corbusier to put into practice here what he would define in 1927 as the “Five Points towards a New Architecture”: the open facade, the open plan, the long horizontal window, the roof garden, and the pilotis.
As a key precedent to the Villa Savoye in Poissy (1928), an architectural icon, the La Roche House constitutes itself a hallmark in the history of the Modern Movement. From 1925 to 1933, numerous architects, writers, artists, and collectors came to visit this experimental home, leaving their mark with a signature in the visitor's book, kept open in the entrance hall.
The La Roche House, as well as the adjacent Jeanneret House, were classified as historical monuments in 1996. Since 1970, they have undergone several restoration campaigns.