Villa Shodhan

In 1951 Surottam Hutheesing, head of the Ahmedabad millowners' association, asked Le Corbusier for a villa, then sold the plans to another mill owner before construction had even begun. They described the home of a bachelor fond of entertaining: terraces and platforms for orchestras, and small salons strung along an architectural promenade. Shyamubhai Shodhan, who bought them, chose to make it a family house with three self-contained apartments.

The Shodhan family still owns and maintains the villa; alterations have been made to it under Balkrishna Doshi's supervision.

Vernacular building forms feed the villa, which also uses the Purist language Le Corbusier forged in the 1920s. Fully open to the outdoors, it puts the Dom-ino frame, the free plan and the free facades to work. A ground floor carries three upper storeys; the structure and walls are raw concrete, the flat roof acts as a parasol, and imposing sunscreens clothe the facades. Stairs and a ramp reach the levels and belong to the architectural promenade; on the ground floor, a double-height entrance hall comes with a mezzanine.

Patches of yellow and green enliven the raw concrete. Black Madras stone paves the floor on a grid set by the Modulor's dimensions, which Le Corbusier calls "optimum paving". The rooms cluster around a terrace three levels high, thickly planted, which helps temper the house naturally.

A private house: a visit needs the owners' prior permission, which they are free to refuse.