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.
Looking like a modernist ship ready to take sail, the house is located close to Le Corbusier's holiday cabin and camping units.
In true modernist style, the outside of the concrete building is painted white.
The project's intention was to try and keep everything true to the original, so the team aimed to create interiors that are exactly the same as they were in photographs taken in 1929.
The windows and shutters have been restored to how they were during 1929
Furniture for the project has been donated by Zeev Aram, who has a licence to all of Gray's furniture designs.
Cabinets designed by Eileen Gray are being further researched to make sure they are completely true to the original.
Le Corbusier's colourful murals can be found in the house.
The house embraces the surrounding landscape, built on a slight diagonal facing out to sea.
ADDRESS
Avenue Le Corbusier
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
France
-
Green House crowned RIBA House of the Year 2023RIBA House of the Year 2023 has been awarded to Green House in London by Hayhurst & Co
-
Nifemi Marcus-Bello makes an impression at Design Miami 2023
Nifemi Marcus-Bello is out in force at Design Miami, with a wall sculpture and installation at the fair’s entrance, made possible by Hublot, and a solo booth with Marta Los Angeles
-
The Algarve welcomes Austa, an all-day kitchen in touch with its heritage
From breakfast to dinner, Austa embraces honest eating and local community
-
A fire station cuts a bold figure in the city of Rennes
This fire station by LAN becomes a new landmark for Rennes, France
-
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
-
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
-
AT Architectes has built a striking house in the heart of a French pine forest
Maison Au Tholonet by AT Architectes is a crisp concrete house set on a wooded site in the South of France, carefully built on the foundations of a ruin
-
Richard Rogers exhibition delves into the architect’s ideas at Chateau La Coste
A new Richard Rogers exhibition created by Ab Rogers opens at the late architect’s final design, the Drawing Gallery at Chateau La Coste in France
-
Inside artist Loris Gréaud’s Paris studio, a concrete bunker by Claude Parent
French artist Loris Gréaud invites us into his light-filled, bunker-like studio, the final project of late architect Claude Parent – watch the exclusive film
-
Stream Building offers urban vision for Paris and beyond
Stream Building by PCA-Stream exemplifies its creator's vision for the future of cities – in Paris, and beyond
-
Magasin Électrique opens in Arles as the home of material pioneer Atelier Luma
The Magasin Électrique at Luma Arles has been expertly redesigned as the home for Atelier Luma, a pioneering material and design laboratory
