In the early 1930s, Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier undertook an audacious architectural project in Tunisia. The Villa Baizeau, seen as a departure from traditional architectural conventions, represented a yearning for freedom, a break from the past, and the pursuit of a unique form of beauty. Today, it houses Tunisia’s secret police. In 1928, Lucien Baizeau (1874-1955), a French colonist and construction contractor in Tunisia, approached the renowned Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier and his mentee, Pierre Jeanneret, to design a summer house on a hilltop in the suburbs of Carthage. Baizeau first encountered Le Corbusier’s work in 1927, following the Deutscher Werkbund (German Association of Craftsmen) exhibition in Stuttgart, Germany. The exhibition brought together artists, architects, designers and industrialists and was a precursor to the Bauhaus movement. One year later, he sent Le Corbusier a contract with a detailed design of his future villa. He wanted a modern home ...
