The Le Corbusier nomination is a difficult case, it is pending since 2009 and even fans of modern architecture would admit that the list of proposed sites is too long and that the individual buildings are highly different in their quality and importance. The recent dossier, deferred in 2011, comprises 19 sites in six countries, 12 from France. I agree with Ian, that the four sites he listed in his review below are Corbusier’s most important and influential works. And ICOMOS obviously shares this view, as they recommended Villa Savoye, Notre-Dame-du-Haute de Ronchamp and Unité d'Habitation in Marseille for future inscription (Chandigarh was not included in the 2011 nomination).

So far, I have visited five of the French sites. My visits of the Villa Savoye and in Ronchamp were more than ten years ago. Both are exceptional buildings and an inscription would be justified even as individual sites. The Villa Savoye is described in detail in Ian’s review below, there is nothing I could add. Thus my review will focus on my recent visits (in June 2013) of Sainte Marie de La Tourette in Éveux, Firminy-Vert, and the Unité d'Habitation in Marseille, and a short report on Notre-Dame-du-Haut de Ronchamp.

Ronchamp is a small village, about 60 kilometers east of Mulhouse, Notre-Dame-du-Haut is just outside the village on a steep hill. The pilgrimage chapel has an asymmetrical floor plan and the outer walls are different in shape and design. From every perspective it looks different. The most striking component is the roof construction, it reminded me of the cap of a porcini mushroom. The interior is plain and simple, but atmospheric, mainly due to the stained glass windows of different size. Thus, I would recommend to visit the chapel on a sunny day. In 2011, a new building by Renzo Piano was opened, a Poor Clares monastery and a visitor center. The project was highly controversial, though it has been reported that it is almost completely hidden in the hill and not visible from the chapel. Well, a good reason for a re-visit to form my own opinion.

Sainte-Marie de la Tourette is a Dominican monastery in Éveux, close to Lyon. We took a regional train from Gare Lyon-St Paul to L'Arbresle (40 min), then a walk slightly uphill through the village of Éveux to the monastery (30 min). In June, there were guided tours only on Sunday afternoon (at 2.30 and 4 pm, in July/August every day). We arrived early enough, so that we had enough time to explore the building from the outside. The monastery was built on a sloping hillside. It is U-shaped, and the church completes the monastery building at the open end to a four-winged complex. There are typical structures, that can be seen in many of Corbusier's works: massive pilotis supporting the structure at the downhill side, long window strips, grassed rooftops. We were surprised to find about 60 people waiting at the entrance, so that the guided tour had to be split. The tour started in front of the building, where the floor plan of a monks' cell is shown with wooden slats. The cells can not be visited, but the model gives a good idea of the narrowness of a cell (the size is designed according to the golden ratio). We entered the building on the middle level, and came into a small entrance hall, followed by the lobby of the library and a small, but tall chapel. The interior of the monastery is rather austere, but there are also atmospheric elements like coloured furniture and light slits (in the typical Corbusier colours yellow, green and red), and high windows. As an example, the refectory has a window front from floor to ceiling and offers a beautiful view over the valley. Narrow, long corridors with horizontal window strips connect the various parts of the building. Finally we reached a spacious foyer with a ramp down to the entrance of the church. The church is a rectangular box with a high ceiling, its interior is simple and plain with coloured horizontal slits and round openings for natural light (the photo shows the crypt).

The Tourette monastery is a late work of Le Corbusier, his architectural principles obviously fit very well to the needs of the monks for spirituality, studying and contemplation. Maybe it is not as iconic as the sites mentioned above, but I think it would be justified to include Sainte-Marie de la Tourette in the nomination.

Firminy-Vert is the second project of urban planning by Le Corbusier, after Chandigarh. Firminy is about one hour by car southwest of Lyon, half way to Le Puy-en-Velay (Santiago de Compostela WHS). The site consists of four parts: the Maison de la Culture, a stadium, the St Pierre church and a swimming pool. There is also a Unité d'Habitation which is not part of the nomination. ICOMOS had major concerns about the authenticity of the site, the Maison de la Culture is the only part that was mainly built by Le Corbusier. The St Pierre church was completed in 2006, 41(!) years after his death. We bought a ticket (6 Euro) at the Maison de la Culture, which houses an auditorium and various rooms for cultural events. However, only the lobby and an exhibition with plans and models of the buildings are accessible for individual visitors. The building is more than 100 meters long and stretches along the stadium. We descended the exterior staircase and walked around the stadium to the concrete tribune at the opposite side. The stadium is not striking and not very different from similar structures. The St Pierre church with its conic form is the most interesting part. Fortunately, we arrived at noon and the sun was shining. The sunlight falls through three dozen fist-sized holes (positioned in the constellation of Orion) on the sloped eastern wall and produce nice lighting effects inside the church.

Finally we visited the Unité d’Habitation in Marseille, the first (of five) and most famous of these 'vertical villages'. It is one of Le Corbusier's most influential works, often regarded as an early example of Brutalism. However, the Unité does not look crude or austere, despite the size it appears elegant and harmonious. This might be due to the constructional principle: the dimensions are based on the golden ratio. The most striking features are the façade with a regular pattern of different sized balconies and the piloti that create a free space in place of a compact ground floor.

We reached the site from the SNCF Gare Marseille with metro 2 to station "Rond Point du Prado", then bus 21 or 22 to the stop “Le Corbusier”. You have to sign a guestbook at the porter's lodge, then you have access to the public area. The 7th and 8th floor are 'shopping streets': a boutique, a restaurant, a patisserie, a bookstore etc, but most of the shops seem to be used as offices. Unfortunately, it is not possible to visit an apartment. The highlight of the visit was the roof terrace with the striking ventilation chutes. As it is the highest building in the area you have an unobstructed view of Marseille and the Mediterranean, you feel really like on the upper deck of an ocean liner.

It has been announced that a re-submission is in preparation (for 2016?), but there is no information which sites will be included. That's probably a tricky problem: a reduction of the number of proposed sites would not only mean to withdraw individual sites, but also to exclude one or more member states. Hopefully they will find a reasonable compromise, because Le Corbusier is one of the most important architects of the 20th Century and his most important works should be represented on the WH list.