The nomination in 2016 will be the third attempt to get an inscription for the work of one of the most influential architects in the 20th century. However, the nomination has not changed significantly in the number of sites, there are still 17 locations in seven countries, ten of them in France. In 2015, I visited the Maison La Roche and the Studio-Apartment in the Molitor building, both in Paris.

The double house La Roche et Jeanneret is located in an affluent residential area near the Bois de Bologne (8-10 square du Docteur Blanche, Metro 9 Jasmin stop). You'll find it at the end of a narrow dead-end street. The Maison Jeanneret houses the offices of the Le Corbusier Foundation and is not open to the public, Maison La Roche is regularly open for visitors (8 Euro entrance fee). The complex is an early work of Le Corbusier, but he had already implemented his "five points of a new architecture": pilotis, horizontal windows, open floor plan, open façade, and roof garden. However, I must admit that these principles are much better visible at Villa Poissy. The house was designed for an art collector and consists of a public area that houses the art gallery and the private residential area of the owner. The two domains are separated by the entrance hall which is open up to the second floor. The largest room is the gallery (photo) with the striking curved ramp that links the art gallery with the library on the second floor. The living area is very puristic and functional. The interiors are designed as you would expect from a building by Le Corbusier: simple, geometric forms and no ornamentation.

Le Corbusier’s studio-apartment occupies the last two floors of the Molitor building in the 16th arrondissement, facing the Stade Jean Bouin (24 rue Nungesser et Coli, Metro 10 Porte d'Auteuil). The apartment is open to visitors only on Saturday, a combined ticket with Maison La Roche costs 12 Euro. For security measures you have to prebook by email, when we visited in September 2015 a visit was possible without prior appointment. The apartment was his residence in Paris from 1934 until his death in 1965, it houses a painting studio and a living area. Two large pivoting doors in the lobby separate the two spaces. By opening and closing the doors, a visitor could be directed either towards the studio or the apartment. There are some nice features that make the best use of the small space, like a wardrobe incorporated into the pivoting door of the bedroom.

I enjoyed my visit to this little-known works of Le Corbusier, but I think both Parisian sites are not essential for the nomination. We combined our visit with a walk through the Bois de Boulogne and a visit to the Louis Vuitton Foundation by Frank Gehry.