space for cars, an extra bedroom and a caretaker's lodge, Le Corbusier had such freedom in executing the commission that he was limited only by his own architectural aesthetic. He began work on the project in September 1928. His initial ideas were ultimately manifested in the final building, though between Autumn 1928 and Spring 1929 he drew up a set of alternative designs that were governed primarily by the Savoye couple's concerns regarding cost. The eventual solution to the cost problem was to reduce the volume of the building by moving the master bedroom down to the first floor and reducing the grid spacing from 5 metres to 4.75 metres. Construction Estimates of the cost in February 1929 lay in the region of half a million Francs, although this excluded the cost of the lodge and the landscaping elements (almost twice the original budget). The project was tendered in February, with contracts being awarded in March 1929. Changes made to the design while the project was being built, which included an amendment to the storey height and the removal and reinstatement of the chauffeur's accommodation, led to the costs rising to approximately 900,000 Francs. When the construction of the project started, no design work had been done on the lodge, and the final design was only presented to the client in June 1929. The design was for a double lodge, but this was reduced to a single lodge for cost reasons. Although the construction of the entire house was completed within a year, it was not habitable until 1931. Design The Villa Savoye, which is probably Le Corbusier's best known building from the 1930s, had an enormous influence on international modernism. Its design embodied his emblematic "Five Points", the basic tenets in his new architectural aesthetic: Support of ground-level pilotis, elevating the building from the earth and allowing the garden to be extended to the space beneath. A functional roof serving as a garden and terrace, reclaiming for Nature the land occupied by the building. A free floor plan, devoid of load-bearing walls, allowing walls to be placed freely and only where aesthetically needed. Long horizontal windows for illumination and ventilation. Freely-designed façades functioning merely as a skin for the wall and windows, and unconstrained by load-bearing considerations. Unlike with his earlier town villas, Le Corbusier was able to carefully design all four sides of the Villa Savoye so that