Eileen Gray’s iconic E1027 house on the Côte d’Azur opens to visitors
After years of decay and a long restoration process, E-1027, the iconic house built by Irish architect and designer Eileen Gray in 1927, is at last open to visit.
Gray created the building for herself and her then-lover architect Jean Badovici as a secluded retreat clutching the French Mediterranean coastline. The house was built on a slight diagonal facing out to sea. With its horizontal white lines, funnel-like stairwell opening onto the roof and token buoy hitched to the side, it's like a modernist ship ready to set sail.
Michael Likierman is a retired British businessman who runs Cap Moderne, the association set up to manage and finish the restoration work for the Conservatoire du Littoral, which bought the house in disrepair in 1999. He explains that French regulations impose an intentionally aged interior, which accounts for the chipped floor tiles and patinaed walls that you can find inside. Gray's clever concertina bay windows and sliding shutters have been lovingly restored but, says Likierman, 'the reproductions of Eileen Gray's fixed cabinets are not right. We'll be having them done again based on new research. The aim is to recreate the interior exactly as it was in 1929 from photos.'
The architecture and fittings were conceived by Gray to work as an inseparable whole. A few of her ingenious inbuilt cupboards remain, complete with pivoting drawers, concealed lighting and cubbyholes. The furniture had long gone, but Zeev Aram of the Aram Store, who holds the license to all of Gray's furniture designs, has donated reproductions. Some, such as the Bibendum chair, Transat chair and E-1027 side table, were part of the original furnishings, while others were not. Until they gain their own patina, these brand new, flawless pieces cut a subtle contrast with the cracked and water-stained walls and floors.
The real clash, though, comes from Le Corbusier's notorious, colourful murals. His colourful, abstract paintings are said to have horrified Gray at the time, although she had long since left the house to Badovici. Le Corbusier clearly loved this spot too - he built his holiday cabin and a set of camping units just above E-1027, and all are part of the visit, making it a feast for lovers of 20th-century architecture.
ADDRESS
Avenue Le Corbusier
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
France
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
Waiting room inspo: Inside Studioutte’s cinematic Sala D’Attesa at Milan Design Week
Studioutte’s Sala D’Attesa, staged in Nolo during Milan Design Week 2024, was a scenographic interior merging different design sensibilities
By Laura May Todd Published
-
Bang & Olufsen’s Recreated Classics series continues with a CD player revival
Bang & Olufsen’s Beosystem 9000c music system brings the original digital compact disc format back to life and pairs it with the latest in speaker design
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
A new book highlights the work of Turkish interior designer Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu
‘Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu: Luxury Redefined’, published by Rizzoli, traces the career of leading Istanbul-based designer Zeynep Fadillioglu, the first woman to design a mosque in Turkey
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Grand Palais restoration in Paris through the lens of champion fencer Enzo Lefort
As Paris’ Grand Palais prepares to reopen following extensive restoration by Chatillon Architectes, we visit the site with champion fencer and photographer Enzo Lefort, who documented the space ahead of the Olympic Games 2024
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Royan Architecture Month showcases French modernism by the sea
Royan Architecture Month 2024 launches in the French city, where many travel to see midcentury builds by the sea, from Notre Dame church to Palais des Congrès
By Stacy Suaya Published
-
Dip into the Paris pools and swimming culture enriching the 2024 Olympic Games
Paris pools, in the Olympics and beyond, have inspired fun, wellness and a love of sports in the French capital
By Ellen Himelfarb Published
-
Jean Prouvé’s House of Better Days on show at Galerie Patrick Seguin in Paris
The Maison Les Jours Meilleurs, or House of Better Days, by Jean Prouvé is explored in a new show at Galerie Patrick Seguin in Paris
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
Hauser & Wirth Paris by Laplace is a winning restoration in the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2024
Hauser & Wirth Paris by Laplace sees the architectural agency named Best Restoration Kings, breathing new life into an 1877 hôtel particulier near the Champs-Elysées
By Amy Serafin Published
-
A fire station cuts a bold figure in the city of Rennes
This fire station by LAN becomes a new landmark for Rennes, France
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A refreshed Musée National de la Marine shows off its expanded exhibition spaces in France
Musée National de la Marine in France has been brought to the 21st century by a team comprising h2o Architectes, Snøhetta and exhibition designers Casson Mann
By Clare Dowdy Published
-
Studio Mumbai exhibition at Fondation Cartier explores craft, architecture and ‘making space’
A Studio Mumbai exhibition at Paris’ Fondation Cartier explores the trailblazing Indian practice’s inspired, hands-on approach
By Amy Serafin Published