Palladio,who designed Villa Rotunda in Vicenza, Italy, may be one of the first modern architects. He played with structure and spatial definition in unique ways. The central space in this building is two stories high and also open to the outside. There are views to all the compass points. The inside is outside and there are four "fronts". There are no doors to enter the main space. Many of the details play games with structure such that, in its time, the building played with common notions of structural stability. Le Corbusier designed Villa Savoy, in Poissey, France which was built in the mid 1920's. Savoy has many tricks that in some ways are similar to Villa Rotunda. There is no real front facade to the home, it floats in the air and has horizontal strip windows that play with expectations of structure. There is a roof garden so part of the inside is outside. Like Rotunda, the center is a void though Savoy has no roof on this space. The clients ran out of money so the third floor that would have covered the garen was never constructed. Got Architecture?
