La Villa Turque

From: La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

ABOVE: Le Corbusier's "Modulor" sculpture and the Turkish Villa.

The "Turkish Villa" at Rue du Doubs 167 is probably the best-known work of Le Corbusier in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The house, also known as Villa Schwob, was designed in 1916 for Anatole Schwob, who owned a watch factory. (Construction costs proved to be far beyond the architect's estimates, and Le Corbusier left for Paris after being sued by his client. He didn't even see the finished house until 1919, two years after its completion.)

Le Corbusier's design for La Villa Turque was influenced by his travels in Turkey, and it made dramatic use of reinforced concrete (which forms the cornices of the house in the picture above). Today, the villa is owned by Ebel, a watch company whose motto is "The Architects of Time." Ebel purchased the house in 1986 and invested heavily in its restoration. La Villa Turque is now used by Ebel's public relations department and includes several guestrooms for employees and important visitors.

Visiting La Villa Turque

Ebel opens the house to visitors on the first and last Saturdays of each month from 11 am. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. Be sure to visit the basement, where you can see an excellent film about the restoration in French, English, German, Italian, or Spanish.

For more information about Le Corbusier's Turkish Villa, go to www.ebel.com, click on "Foundations," and select "La Villa Turque." We'd also suggest reading the Villa Turque section of Dale Bechtel's SwissInfo article, "Reconstructing Le Corbusier's Swiss Legacy."

Next page: More photos of the Turkish Villa

Top photo copyright © Switzerland Tourism. ST/Swiss-image.ch.

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