Undoubtedly, Le Corbusier’s concept of “pilotis” was the contribution most intimately tied to his architectural legacy. That is not to say, however, that the remaining four of Le Corbusier’s five points were not significant contributions in their own right. Aside from the rooftop garden, all of the points after pilotis are dependent on pilotis. Le Corbusier advocates for pilotis because they allow for a free floor plan, they allow a free facade, and they allow ribbon windows. It is hard to talk about one of these points without making a comment on pilotis themselves–for example to claim that a free floor plan is the most appealing of the points to you, when really it should be that the pilotis are because they allow for a free floor plan–but I am doing so anyway in saying that ribbon windows are the most personally appealing contribution Le Corbusier made. For centuries, the presence of light in architecture has been one of the seminal challenge for architects around the globe. Le Corbusier’s manifest destiny to bring architecture up to the speed of modern industry was realized in part by the contribution of ribbon windows. If architecture was to match the forward progress of civilization, as he put it, then ribbon windows were crucial in that quantum leap as they were a truly revolutionary solution to an age old problem. One of the defining characteristics to set apart Modern architecture from styles of the past is its relationship with light. I once heard a quote that resonated with me from a Greek Architect being interviewed on 60 minutes, he said “light is to architecture what sound is to music”, and if we agree with Goethe that architecture is “frozen music” then light must be essential. We see how crucial light really is when modern technology enters architecture, with the help of Le Corbusier–allowing for lighting solutions never previously possible–and all of the sudden architecture’s relationship with light has been completely reimagined. The ability to make a wall a window quite simply changed the game.