Page 133 - AIT0716_E-Paper

Hygienische Oberflächen, strenge Geometrien und die für Mallet-Stevens typischen Heizungsverkleidungen spielen in der Villa eine große Rolle. • Strict geometry covers typical for Mallet-Stevens play a role in the villa.

steel) and noble materials from various countries are. This "modern-day château” is
laid out ar ound a hall way giving onto a vast drawing room, whose large window
opens onto the garden and water mirror. This layout is divided up by function, with
a parents’ wing, servants’ area, children’s area, and sports and relaxation areas, and
terraces, whilst an immense basemen t houses the wine cellar, a huge boiler room,
the laundry room, and storage areas.
16
From prestigious building project to a monument
15
The interior spaces and furniture of the villa then underwent major transformations
9 3
as a r esult of the dama ge caused by military occupation during the Se cond World 5 7
War and due to the changing needs of the family. Paul Cavrois return to his house in 11 11 10 4 7
January 1947 and called on architect Pierre Barbe, who modified the house between 7
8
1947 and 1959. Following the death of the Cavrois couple, the house was in September 2 6 6 8
1988 sold to a property development company that planned on dividing the grounds 15
up into building plots and demo lishing the villa. A pressure group was set up t o 1
oppose this plan, resulting in the foundation of the Association de Sauvegarde de la
Villa Cavrois in N ovember 19 90. The villa was list ed as a hist oric monumen t in Erdgeschoss • Ground floor
December 1990. Despite various legal actions brought by the association, the proper-
ty developer continued to neglect the villa. After lying vandalised and in a st ate of
virtual ruin, the villa along with and parts of the grounds was bought by the State in
2001. Upon purchasing the villa, the State launched a particularly large restoration
campaign. The total budget for works to save the villa and grounds was estimated at 8 12 13 3 8 14 14 8 14
nearly 23 million eur o. The Centre des Monuments Natio n aux (CMN) has mana ged
this vast restoration campaign since 2008. The C avrois Villa was entrusted to the
CMN in order to open it to the public, in accordance with its statutory missions. The
priority was to present the in terior spaces designed by Mallet-Stevens as a li ving
space for the C avrois family. Since the C avrois Villa is one of the f ew Modernist-
inspired F rench buil dings of the 19 30s, th e N ational C ommittee f or H istoric Obergeschoss • Upper level
Monuments decided to reinstate the original interior volumes and layout. Extensive
research was requi red before actually conducting the restoration work and reconsti-
tuting the villa and gr oun ds as f aithfully as pos sible. By re-establishing the gr eat 1 Überdachter Eingangsbereich • roofed entrance area 9 Raucherraum • smoking room
majority of the de corative, functional, and architectural features of the monumen t, 2 Eingangshalle • entrance hall 10 Büro des Hausherren • study of the man of the house
3 Salon • parlour 11 Räume der jungen Herren • rooms of the young men
the State has brought the original ambition of the Cavrois and Mallet-Stevens back to 4 Esszimmer • dining room 12 Schlafzimmer der Eltern • master bedroom
life. Today the C avrois Villa is a lively and d ynamic place with encounters and 5 Esszimmer für die Kinder • children’s dining room 13 Boudoir der Hausherrin • boudoir of the lady of house
6 Küche • kitchen 14 Räume der Kinder • children’s rooms
debates about architecture and design, taking its due place in the ne twork of local, 7 Personal • servants 15 Terrasse • terrace
national, and international cultural institutions. Informations: www.villa-cavrois.fr 8 Bad • bathroom 16 Pool • pool

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