| Inside UNESCO Icons - Part 2: Homes That Made History | World Heritage isn’t just about castles and cathedrals. UNESCO also honours radical 20th-century houses that reshaped the way we live. From Gaudí’s sculptural rooftops to Rietveld’s bold Utrecht creation, these residences embody Living as Manifesto—ideas about modern life translated into brick, glass, and steel.
We are proud to present here Part II of the 20th-century UNESCO houses that are part of the Iconic Houses network. These ten houses aren’t just architecture — they are ideals made tangible. To step into a UNESCO home is to experience how visionaries once imagined the future of living.
New in our Network! – Perret Show Flat, Le Havre (France)
Discover the Perret Show Flat in Le Havre, a museum apartment that brings the city’s postwar reconstruction to life. Opened in 2006 after Le Havre’s UNESCO World Heritage recognition, the flat recreates Auguste Perret’s 1940s vision of “the housing of tomorrow,” offering visitors an authentic glimpse into how families rebuilt their lives after WWII.
Follow this link to read the full article in our news section on the website.
And follow this link for Part 1 of this article.
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| | Perret Show Flat – Living Modernity | Perret’s Le Havre project redefined urban living. In the Show Flat, the visible concrete column showcases a revolutionary post-and-beam system where no walls are load-bearing. This allowed for wide openings and flexible layouts — homes that adapt to their inhabitants, not the reverse. Bright and pleasant to live in thanks to its dual orientation and optimal sunlight.
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| | Le Cabanon, 1951 – The Tiny House UNESCO Made Big | Le Corbusier's tiny seaside holiday cabin in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin on the Côte d'Azur in France, was where he spent every August for 18 years. The Cabanon looks like a log cabin from the outside. Inside, it was carefully designed on modular principles and made from prefabricated elements. UNESCO inscribed the cabin in 2016, alongside 16 other Corbu masterpieces.
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| | Taliesin West, 1937 – A Desert Dream Turned World Heritage Icon | Taliesin West was Frank Lloyd Wright's Arizona home and laboratory. Wright and his apprentices began building Taliesin West out of the stone and sand that surrounded them in the Sonoran Desert at the foothills of the McDowell Mountains in 1938. In 2019 UNESCO listed Taliesin West and 7 other Wright buildings as World Heritage Site.
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| | Appartement-Atelier de Le Corbusier, 1934 – Where Modernism Lived and Breathed | Le Corbusier’s personal studio apartment occupies the last two floors of the Molitor apartment block in the 16th arrondissement between Paris and Boulogne. Bathed in light it spans the length of the last floor and houses his painting studio. The architect lived here from 1934 until his death in 1965. UNESCO added the studio in 2016, alongside 16 other Corbu masterpieces.
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| | Weissenhofmuseum im Haus Le Corbusier, 1927 – Le Corbusier Among Visionaries | The semi-detached house of Le Corbusier was built as part of the Weissenhofsiedlung. Under the direction of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 17 international architects belonging to the Avant-Garde presented new solutions for living, among them Walter Gropius, J.J.P. Oud and Hans Scharoun: a milestone of modern architecture.
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| | Maison La Roche, 1925 – Collector’s Home, now Modern Icon | Maison La Roche in Paris is a house built for an art collector and represents one of the most eloquent testimonies to the relevance of modern architecture in France. It is an ensemble with Maison Jeanneret next to it, today the home of the Corbusier Foundation. In 2016 listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the other Corbusier houses mentioned here.
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| | Villa Le Lac, 1924 – Small House, Big Ideas | Villa Le Lac is a little gem of ingenuity and functionalism by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret in Corseaux, Switzerland – an architectural manifesto where one can find the key ideas of the program developed by Le Corbusier in the 1920s for his famous ‘purist houses’. In 2016, the villa was added to the series of 17 Le Corbusier buildings recognized by UNESCO.
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| | Hollyhock House, 1921 – Wright’s First LA Masterpiece | Hollyhock House in Los Angeles is Wright’s first Los Angeles commission and an ode to California—its freedom and natural beauty. Designed for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, it integrates pre-Hispanic, Japanese, and California influences. A UNESCO site since 2019, as part of The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright inscription.
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| | Casa Batlló, 1906 – Catalan Modernism in Full Bloom | Casa Batlló is a masterpiece of Catalan Modernism. Notable for its organic shapes, vibrant colours and nature-inspired façade, the interior features sculpted wood, stained glass, an innovative light well, ergonomic design and pioneering ventilation system. Since 1984, Casa Batlló and other Gaudí works have been on UNESCO’s list.
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| | Frederick C. Robie House, 1910 – Where Horizontal Lines Changed Architecture | A masterpiece of the Prairie style, the Frederick C. Robie House in Chicago, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2019 and has been designated by the AIA as one of the 10 most significant structures of the 20th century. With its bold horizontal lines, daring cantilevers, art glass windows and open floor plan, the Robie House inspired an architectural revolution.
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| | Adopt an Icon at Risk - PLEASE DONATE! | Thanks to your support, we’ve been able to add 45 houses to our Icons at Risk Watch List. But many more are still under threat—and on our radar. With your help, we can research, document, and share their stories before it’s too late. Please donate today to help us protect these architectural treasures. Every contribution counts.
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