Association Maison Blanche

About

The Association Maison Blanche was a major project for Le Corbusier. Not only was it his first independent building, but it was the home his parents would live in, in his home town. Understandably, he poured much of his personality into it. He broke from the traditionally popular Art Nouveau styles and followed the more modernist take on neo-Classical architecture he learned as a student. But being his own project, he had plenty of room to experiment. There's German-Mediterranean influences and (then) new materials such as fibrocement for the roof cover and linoleum for the floors. This was important to his future development as an architect - he was completely unknown in 1912. Today, the house/museum stands monument to Le Corbusier, and a unique milestone in the world of architecture, marking the transition to Modernism. In fact, it's so important, the Swiss Government applied to make it a UNESCO site, but for now it remains an important memorial to the French-Swiss architect. Can be visited Friday, Saturday or Sunday.