Every edition of ABSoluut, the magazine we produce for ABS Bouwteam, brings two figures together for a conversation about architecture. In this edition, Arne Schollaert, CEO of ABS Bouwteam and publisher of this magazine, joins architect Simon de Burbure to Villa Cavrois in Croix in northern France. The modernist villa was designed between 1929 and 1932 by architect Robert Mallet-Stevens and owes its iconic status to its striking yellow-brick façade, crisp horizontal lines, innovative technologies, and the harmony between inside and outside achieved through a meticulous interplay of light and views. Villa Cavrois epitomises understated luxury, with every line and detail carefully considered, coming together in an unprecedented Gesamtkunstwerk. De Burbure: “The refinement I find here sometimes – whether consciously or not – creeps into my own designs.”
Blog | Villa Cavrois: the pursuit of refinement
“Do you see how those walls cantilever over the terrace?” asks Simon as he points to the yellow-brick façade. Having just passed the reception desk, he and Arne are purposefully walking towards the front door of Villa Cavrois. “It creates more privacy and a sense of shelter. I like to use that technique in my own designs as well.” The duo stands beneath the distinctive concrete canopy at the entrance, perforated with glass skylights and supported by two slender cylindrical steel columns, setting the tone for a fully immersive experience of light, views and comfort. “I would actually love to have a conversation with the designer of this villa, because our visions have so much in common,” Simon continues. “That’s immediately clear here.”
Carte blanche for modernist architecture
The career – and indeed the life – of French architect Robert Mallet-Stevens (1886–1945) was not a long one. In the Parisian district of Auteuil, a stone’s throw from Le Corbusier’s ‘Villa La Roche’, lies ‘Rue Mallet-Stevens’, an open-air manifesto of several houses, studio spaces and even street furniture, all conceived around the idea that architecture is a collective art form in which various disciplines complement one another. In 1928, a year before the construction of Villa Cavrois, MalletStevens completed Villa Noailles in Hyères in southern France, the other landmark of his oeuvre. In this holiday villa commissioned by art patrons Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles – a refined 2,000-square-metre concrete box on a green hillside – he once again displays his clear architectural vision. It earned him fame and recognition, and an introduction to Paul Cavrois, a textile baron planning the construction of a large country villa in Croix for his family of seven children and household staff.
The preliminary design by Jacques Gréber, whom Cavrois had initially appointed, was swiftly discarded in favour of giving Mallet-Stevens carte blanche. For the first time in his career, the architect designed every aspect of a building in detail. It also became his last major project. Apart from a few shop interiors, scenographic works, small renovations and furniture designs, his commission list remained largely empty in the years that followed. First the 1930s economic crisis brought his work to a halt, and later the rise of less elitist forms of modernism – championed by Le Corbusier – caused his career to fade. During the Second World War his practice came to a near standstill, and he largely withdrew from public life. In 1945, the French architect died quietly, leaving the explicit final wish that his archive be destroyed.
Beauty born of friction
Sleek horizontal lines almost obsessively define the image and monumental character of Villa Cavrois – both outside and inside. Simon: “Do you see how the rhythm of three bricks is maintained everywhere? I would go one step further and align the joints perfectly. Lines, distances, rhythm – they bring calm and refinement, and they must be accurate to the millimetre. If the client allows it, I can really push that precision. Because it pays off, and Arne knows that. In project DO. House we were still shifting columns at the very last moment to achieve the right cadence.” It is a quality Arne values. “An architect who questions themselves, unravelling the proverbial knot in his stomach at night or in the shower, is incredibly valuable to a project. You need that friction, because the most difficult questions lead to the most beautiful results.” Simon: “By searching for solutions within my own designs, I also gain better insight into the value of other works – such as the cantilevered façade walls here.”
In the imposing entrance hall, the geometric composition and carefully considered symmetry stand out immediately. The high ceilings create a cinematic effect, typical of Mallet-Stevens. But the smaller, lower passages connecting one space to another – which force contraction before opening into grandeur again – also capture the Ghent-based architect’s attention. “This summer I travelled past the castles of the Loire Valley and I notice similarities. The combination of curved and straight forms within a single space also appears there, creating a fascinating experience.” This brings the duo to the timeless and elusive question: what makes architecture good? And how can architecture influence the wellbeing of its inhabitants? Beyond the mathematical approach to a design, Simon believes the section reveals a building’s true quality. “When you look at the section here, you see a layering of levels thanks to terraces, walls that rise higher, a rhythm of high and low ceilings, and so on. But essentially, for me, a good building stands or falls with the floor plan. That is always my starting point. It’s not rocket science, but I adhere to certain principles that I know work. I draw my axes based on what you should see, feel and experience when entering a home or a room. In the layout of Villa Cavrois, this results in carefully considered symmetry and an endless sense of harmony.”
Arne wonders whether this principle can also be applied to less elitist architecture – housing estates or property developments, for instance. Simon: “I have great respect for architects who can do that. For me, it is a challenge I might take on later in life. You need a certain maturity for it. My strength lies in far-reaching detailing, and I fear that would not come into its own in such projects.” Arne: “We do it, though. Look at our ST.AM project in Sint-Amandsberg. People who resell their apartment there do so with a substantial added value thanks to the level of finish and living quality. That’s a clear signal.”
Democratic architecture
Form follows function – the basic principle of modernist architecture and also the foundation of Villa Cavrois. Beyond that, Mallet-Stevens integrates a drive for functionality and modern technologies into his work. But for the French architect, there is more. Less dogmatic than his contemporary Le Corbusier and with a greater sense of refinement and elegance, he opts for thoughtful detailing inspired by Art Deco. Indirect lighting, unobstructed daylight, a rich colour palette, the interplay of high and low spaces, intimacy versus openness, the seamless integration of furniture down to door handles and wall clocks, the use of fine natural materials – the list goes on. The level of understated luxury Mallet-Stevens achieves in Villa Cavrois is immense. The client’s wardrobe was custom-made to fit his shirts, and even the light-yellow glazed facing brick was specially produced for the villa. Interestingly, the brick is in fact a clinker brick with an ultra-thin joint made from a specially selected clay. It was developed under the architect’s close supervision at Briqueteries du Nord near Lille. It is a durable, weatherproof choice that also creates a monolithic effect. Simon: “You can clearly see how the surroundings form the shell around the home and define the materiality of the architecture.”
It is clear that the Ghent-based architect cannot get enough of the modernist building. “Those guillotine windows!” he exclaims in delight as he strides the full length of the first floor – sixty metres, to be precise. The sum of all these elements is what made Mallet-Stevens great in the 1930s – while at the same time sealing his fate. While the introverted, perfectionist architect quietly built his vision from the shadows, Le Corbusier attracted attention with a flamboyant media presence. He pushed the same modernist ideals to rational extremes and paired them with democratic principles, pushing his fellow architect into obscurity. “We shouldn’t always be blinded by ‘magazine architecture’,” Simon remarks. “There are many brilliant architects working under the radar, producing high-quality work. I must admit though, I’m less fond of how Mallet-Stevens uses different colours, materials and finishes in each room. I prefer to limit this as much as possible to create a sense of calm and unity. You can still evoke different atmospheres that way. On the other hand, you don’t necessarily have to work in a minimalist style. An eclectic style can feel harmonious as well.”
Creating cinematic settings is inherent to Mallet-Stevens’ work. Before making a name as an architect, he designed sets for several avant-garde film directors. This infuses his oeuvre with drama and theatricality, illustrating how he saw himself as a visual director of space, light and movement – someone who works not on stage but behind the scenes to create a total experience of architecture, art and landscape. Originally, that landscape comprised a five-hectare park with, among other things, a reflecting pool, rose garden and a swimming pool. From inside the villa, the sightlines extend along the central axis towards the outside, making the garden feel like an extension of the living space. The reflecting pool reinforces the horizontal lines of the villa and literally ‘doubles’ it in the water. The way exterior materials echo the colours and textures within the villa, and how the structured yet modest planting accentuates the architecture, is also characteristic.
Mallet-Stevens’ signature is clear and defined – something that was at times held against him during his career. In this too, his approach differs from that of Le Corbusier, but also from Simon, who does not wish to tie himself to a specific style and always bases his designs on the floor plan and the surroundings. “Yet I fell in love with your classical architecture,” Arne laughs. “Well, I do love classical principles, but I don’t want to tie myself to any one particular style. It would restrict me too much,” Simon replies. By now, the two men have reached the roof terrace of Villa Cavrois, the final highlight of their visit and perhaps the villa’s most extraordinary feature. Not only is it a wonderful place to linger beneath the shade of the linear pergola and plantings, it also offers an ideal viewpoint over the garden, which, as a geometric landscape, mirrors the house’s order. A moment of reflection arises when Arne asks Simon how, as an architect born in 1990, he has developed such maturity so early in his career? “I may be young, but I’ve been at it for quite a while,” he admits. “In secondary school I was a poor student. I wasn’t really interested in classical education and needed creativity and less structure. I wanted to create. At fifteen I started studying architecture at Sint-Lucas in Ghent, and from then on everything went smoothly. I was among like-minded people and immersed myself in visiting buildings, making sketches and studying plans. It went so far that later, as a university college student, I carried out small renovations under the guidance of an architect. I’m still in that process of learning, still questioning myself, and I know I’m not yet where I want to be. Every assignment brings me a little closer.”
(Text: Leslie Vanhecke - Photography: Tim Van de Velde)
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