Cap Moderne - Eileen Gray and Le Corbusier, Modernity by the Sea

Description

A paradisiacal place on the Mediterranean shore, with an enchanting view of the Bay of Roquebrune, the Cap Moderne site is also a concentration of avant-garde architecture. Over time, between the late 1920s and the early 1950s, diverse and captivating personalities such as the Irish designer Eileen Gray and her partner Jean Badovici, the Niçois plumber-roofer Thomas Rebutato and his family, the architect Le Corbusier and his wife Yvonne settled on this piece of land far from urbanization. Each of them built a place adapted to their needs, from the most modern to the most minimal, ultimately creating a harmonious environment in which the bar-restaurant "l'Étoile de mer" offered a friendly meeting place for everyone, where many friendships were formed. With the five camping units designed by Le Corbusier - who also built his Cabanon there - the microcosm opened up to passing vacationers. This book invites you to the incredible human and architectural adventure, both a narrative of these encounters and an enlightened description of the places that hosted them. In the spring of 2020, the whole site - now managed by the Centre des monuments nationaux - will reopen to the public after a restoration campaign on Villa E-1027.