Villa Cavrois, Modernist villa in Croix, France
Villa Cavrois is a residential building in the modern style designed by architect Robert Mallet-Stevens in the town of Croix in northern France. The structure displays smooth yellow brick walls with large rectangular window openings framed by concrete and a flat rooftop terrace spanning the upper floors.
Construction took place between 1929 and 1932 as a commission by a wealthy industrialist from the region who wanted a contemporary family residence. During World War II the Wehrmacht used the building as barracks, which left marks on the interior, before it stood empty in the 1980s and was later acquired by the French state.
The house carries the name of its commissioner, a textile manufacturer from nearby Roubaix who asked the architect to design a family residence for his eight children. The large dining room on the ground floor forms the heart of the reception spaces and opens directly onto the long water basin in the garden.
The rooms are spread across several floors and visitors who wish to see the upper areas should be able to climb stairs. The tour through the interior spaces gives a good sense of daily life in an upper-middle-class family during the 1930s.
The long water basin stretching 72 meters in front of the main facade reflects the yellow brick walls and serves as a central design element for the garden view. The house already featured central heating with control panels in several rooms in the early 1930s, which was exceptionally modern at the time.
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