Villa Le Trident, Modern architecture villa in Théoule-sur-Mer, France

Villa Le Trident is a Modernist villa on the pointe de l'Esquillon in Théoule-sur-Mer, built on a slope so that entry is at bedroom level and reception rooms and terraces lie one floor below, reached by about thirty steps. Its façades are white intonaco with roof terraces, and it has seven bedrooms and five bathrooms over 385 square metres. A white bell-cote with a dark bell stands on the roof edge, and a pergola of grey wooden slats shades a terrace.

In 1925 Barry Dierks, aged 26, and his partner Eric Sawyer bought a 6,000 m² site on the pointe de l'Esquillon with a private cove and beach, and Dierks built the villa there as his home and studio. Its white render and roof terraces made it the best example of his Modernist work, and Noël Coward called it "impossibly beautiful". Dierks died in 1960; Sawyer left the villa to his nephew in 1985, and it was offered for sale in 2008.

The villa's guestbook records Picasso, Somerset Maugham, Noël Coward and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, most of whom were clients turned friends. Dierks and Eric Sawyer lived there openly as a couple and were called "the darlings of the Riviera". The house served as both residence and studio, and Noël Coward described it as "impossibly beautiful".

The location sits near local beaches, giving visitors easy access to water activities and coastal exploration. Its position on the coastline means the site is straightforward to reach and walk around.

Barry Dierks designed several pieces of furniture for the villa himself, including bookcases and a large table covered with shagreen. The house was his own residence and studio, and its guestbook names Picasso, Somerset Maugham, Noël Coward and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.