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SPECIAL – Czech Classics

Record Number of New Iconic Houses - Part 1

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Interview in Leading Catalan newspaper ARA

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Historical Exhibition, Marie-Laure de Noailles, Painter, Conversation

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SPECIAL – Iconic Dreams Europe - Sleep in an Iconic House!

SPECIAL – Iconic Dreams North America - Sleep in an Iconic House!

SPECIAL – Dutch Delights!

SPECIAL - Vacances en France!

SPECIAL – German Greats!

SPECIAL - Casas Icónicas en España!

SPECIAL – Northern (High)Lights!

SPECIAL – Iconic Artist Residencies

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SPECIAL – Women & Iconic Houses

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Support the Frankfurt Declaration (on Housing)

Winy Wants a World Wonder

Welcome Atelier Volten!

Sleep in a Modernist Gem – Huis Billiet in Bruges

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - 100 Years Van Zessen House

Exclusive Tour and Film Screening Package

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Meet Conference Co-Chair Maria Szadkowska

Eighteen Iconic Houses Under One Roof

17 June - 'Pioneers-film' Screening Amersfoort

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - Van Eesteren House Museum

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Movie Night: Adolf Loos- Revolutionary Among Architects

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'Inside Iconic Houses' - Online Tour Program

Iconic Houses in The Netherlands - The Diagoon House

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Rietveld Houses Owners Association

Corberó Space: New Life for Hidden Jewel

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Welcome Rietveld's Van Daalen House!

Architect Harry Gessner Passed Away at 97

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Icon Saved: Dorchester Drive House

Welcome Umbrella House!

Iconic Houses in the Netherlands – Berlage’s Masterpiece

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Inside Iconic Houses - Tour of Maison Cazenave

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Portraits of the Architect - Interview with Gennaro Postiglione

Test Labs for New Ideas - Interview with Natascha Drabbe

Inside Iconic Houses - Isokon Building

Inside Iconic Houses - 16 December: Sunnylands with Janice Lyle

BCN-BXL Coderch-De Koninck - Beyond Time

New Chairman Architect Nanne de Ru on The Perfect Platform

Health and Home - Interview with Beatriz Colomina

A Life Less Ordinary – Interview with Valentijn Carbo

Invisible Women - Interview with Alice T. Friedman

Winy Maas on the Green Dip

Anita Blom on Experimental Housing of the 1970s

Women’s Worlds - Interview with Natalie Dubois

The Culture of Living - Interview with Robert von der Nahmer

Hetty Berens: A Fresh Take on Modernism

Niek Smit on Supporting Modern Heritage

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Save Maison Zilveli - Sign the Petition!

How a Building Tells a Story - Recorded Event

Toolkit for Owners of a Modern House

13 Aalto Sites Nominated for UNESCO World Heritage

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Business Cards of Stone, Timber and Concrete in the Brussels Region 1830-1970

Exhibiting & Visiting Modernist Monuments

Fostering Well-Researched Responsible Design

ICONS AT RISK

Enjoy a virtual visit to the California House and a Q&A with architect Peter Gluck

Exhibition 'Modernism and Refuge'

A Hidden Gem of Postmodernism

New Centre for Historic Houses of India

An Online Chronicle of the Douglas House

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Sponsors and Friends

An Afternoon with the Glucks

Chandler McCoy on Making Modern Houses Sustainable

Catherine Croft: Getting Away from the Demolition Mentality in the UK

Patrick Weber on Discovering an Unknown Icon

Fiona Fisher on Iconic Interiors

Jocelyn Bouraly on Villa Cavrois

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Danish Moderns – Looking Back at Our Mini-Seminar

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Lecture report: Remembering Richard Neutra

Hôtel Mezzara and the Guimard Museum project

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Iconic Houses in Latin America

Conference testimonials

House Tours May 2018 

Expert Meetings

Natascha Drabbe - Iconic Houses: The Next Chapter

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Hilary Lewis on Philip Johnson and his Glass House

John Arbuckle on Great House Tours

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Scott Fellows and Craig Bassam on their Passion for Preservation

Jorge Liernur -KEYNOTE SPEAKER- on Latin American Modernism(s)

Fabio Grementieri on Modernism in Argentina

Catalina Corcuera Cabezut on Casa Luis Barragán

Renato Anelli on Lina Bo Bardi’s Casa de Vidro

Tim McClimon on Corporate Preservation

Amanda Nelson on Building Donor Relationships

John Bacon on Planned Giving

Jean-Paul Warmoes on the Art of Fundraising in America

Chandler McCoy on Why Less is More

Katherine Malone-France on Moving with the Times

Anne Mette Rahbæk on Philanthropic Investments and Preservation

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Roland Reisley on Life in a Frank Lloyd Wright House

5th Iconic Houses Conference May 2018

Kristin Stone, Pasadena Tour Company

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Behind the Scenes: Hendrick de Keyser Association

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Latin America Special – Focus on Mexico

De Stijl in Drachten

Preserving the Nancarrow House-Studio

Meet the Friends - Nanne de Ru

Latin America Special – Focus on Brazil

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In Berlin’s Modernist Network

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Maintaining Aalto's Studio – Linoleum Conservation

Virtual Tour of a Papaverhof Home in 3D

Getty Grant for Villa E-1027

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Iconic Houses: A Bohemian Road Trip

Work in Progress: Capricho de Gaudí

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Lynda Waggoner reports

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Guest of Honor - Harry Gesner

Fallingwater: European Lecture Tour

Wright Plus 2016 Walk

Susan Macdonald, Getty Conservation Institute

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Willie van Burgsteden, designer Iconic Houses

Buff Kavelman, Philanthropic Advisor

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Toshiko Mori, architect

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Meet the Friends - Thomas Schönauer

Wim de Wit, Stanford University

Linda Dishman, Los Angeles Conservancy

Jesse Lattig, Pasadena Heritage

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Follow us!

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Conference House Tours Barcelona

Marta Lacambra, Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera

Natascha Drabbe, Iconic Houses Foundation

Special speaker Oscar Tusquets

Jordi Tresserras, UNESCO Network ‘Culture, tourism and development’

Christen Obel, Utzon Foundation

Elena Ruiz Sastre, Casa Broner

Fernando Alvarez Prozorovich, La Ricarda

Tim Benton, Professor of Art History (Emeritus)

Susana Landrove, Docomomo Spain

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Jordi Falgàs, Casa Rafael Masó

Documentary La Ricarda

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Conference 25 November 2014 at La Pedrera

Henry Urbach, The Glass House

Victoria & Albert Museum London November 12, 2013

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Philippe Bélaval, Centre des monuments nationaux

19-03-2015

Work in Progress: Villa Cavrois

Croix, France, 1932
Designed by Robert Mallet Stevens(1886-1945)

History and architectural value of the Villa Cavrois
Very last significant project conceived by Mallet-Stevens, the villa Cavrois has been ordered by a couple, Paul and Lucie Cavrois, with seven children, who wanted to live in the countryside, not far from the textile factories that Paul owned. It has been a true opportunity for the architect to build a Gesamtkunstwerk as he designed the whole project, at each step and level, from the garden to the furniture, the screws, the windows... He has worked in the Wiener Werkstätte spirit for creating this very modern style architecture with classical conceptions of the way of life. The villa stayed in the hands of the family until 1987 when it has been sold to a real estate company which tried to destroy it. Classified Historical monument in 1990, it has been bought by the state in 2001 as it was in near-ruin conditions.

Paul-Hervé Parsy, curator and manager of the Orion Castle and the Villa Cavrois, tells us about the status quo of this huge undertaking to save and restore the building and make it ready to be visited as a house museum.

Who is the owner of Villa Cavrois?
The management of the villa is entrusted to the Centre des monuments nationaux (CMN) by the state. The CMN manages 98 national historical monuments, among which are the Arc de Triomphe and the Panthéon in Paris.

Who are working on bringing Villa Cavrois back to live?
The restoration project and works has been directed by Mr. Michel Goutal, chief architect for historical monuments, and his team, in particular Ms Beatrice Gransard. Since 2008, the CMN is in charge of the program and definitions of the restoration.

What is your role?
The CMN has to assume the restoration program and the opening to the public. It has also a responsibility of protection and conservation of this monument. As manager I have to respect these claims and to conceive either the daily life than the cultural events of the villa. I have also to manage the team, the relationships with the geographical context, the budget…

How long will the restoration take?
The restoration program has taken 13 years, from 2002 to 2015, due to the complexity of this work.

Will there be a conservation management plan?
As in any other monument, our mission is to preserve it by managing the conservation aspects of the monument, the architectural level but also the furniture, the decorative parts and the technical data.

What about the design of Villa Cavrois is of most value to you?
What is the most impressive value of this villa is his size: 60 meter long, with 3 levels of roof terraces, 1800 m2 of living spaces, 840 m2 of terraces, looking as a sort of steamship in a green park.

What is the biggest challenge with regard to the restoration?
When the state has decided to buy it, the villa was in a pathetic near-ruin condition: broken windows, stolen marble, burned wood-parquet. Some trees were growing on the terraces. As decided in 2008 by the national commission for Historical Monuments the claim was to restore it to its July 1932 condition, when it was open for the first time for the marriage of one of the daughters of the Cavrois. One of the biggest problems was that we had neither archives nor any documentation about the villa. Along all these years we had to do a lot of research, through historical photographs, publications, technical documentations of the companies which have worked for the villa, and also archaeological-type research on site for finding how to respect the original architecture and design.

When do you expect the renovation to be completed?
May 2015!

Will Villa Cavrois be open to the public and what purpose will it serve?
The villa will open for the first time on June 13th. The whole villa, including the basement will be open to the public. The purpose is to offer the opportunity to discover a masterpiece of architectural modernity conceived for a very classical bourgeois family. In terms of spaces and decors, the villa is influenced by the Austrian modernity of Adolf Loos and Josef Hoffman. The spatial organization is also based on a XVIII° century conception. This contradiction between modernity and classicism – symbolic for France? – makes of this unique modern castle an exceptional example of architectural chef-d’oeuvre.

How many visitors do you expect?
It is our goal to welcome 35,000 visitors, from all over the world, each year.

How will the house be managed?
There will be a team of 15 people, including administrative and financial management, educational department and technical staff.

Villa Cavrois on Screen: is there any film footage available about Villa Cavrois’ history that we can find online?
We can recommend the following websites where films and photographs are on line:
www.villa-cavrois.fr
www.monuments-nationaux.fr
www.regards.monuments-nationaux.fr is the pictures database of Centre des monuments nationaux where images of the Villa Cavrois can be consulted.

What interesting information can you share with us that we haven’t asked you?
The villa will be open every day except Tuesday, from 10h30 to 18h30 (May to October) or 17h30. There is a bookstore and the possibility to use a tablet for the visit.

Thank you, Paul Hervé, for this interview!

Photos: © Jean-Luc Paillé / Centre des monuments nationaux