Cap Moderne, the site we owe to Eileen Gray and Le Corbusier, is still under renovation but this summer it's again open and also hosting a programme of events.
For the second year running, Eileen Gray's E-1027, the Modernist villa she had built from 1926 to 1929 in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, is open to the public. Visitors can appreciate how the restoration begun last year is proceeding. Over the winter months important work was carried out to repair and weatherproof the building, allowing the foundations, balconies and terraces to be consolidated. Feeding into this is research into refining restoration techniques for early-20th-century villas that are not withstanding the years and climate, prefiguring one of site manager Cap Moderne's objectives: to develop a research and study facility for architecture professionals and students. Inside the villa, the bathroom has been completely restored so it again looks exactly as Eileen Gray imagined it. A small hut that Le Corbusier used as a workshop has also been restored.
Dinner in the villa's gardens
It was Le Corbusier who in 1956 designed the holiday cottages (Unités de Camping) erected on land adjacent to the villa. These prototype holiday dwellings, which the architect conceived as an experiment in cheap modular accommodation for mass tourism, can also be visited now. Lastly, the gardens – integral to Gray's global conception of her villa – have been returned to their original layout and cleared of the over-exuberant vegetation. These spaces with fantastic views of the sea can now be booked for private functions. The Cap Moderne association is also putting on a summer programme of events for the public. On certain Sundays* visitors can enjoy brunch in the garden followed by a guided tour of the site; other events scheduled include open-air film screenings and dinner served on the villa's terraces on nights when there are firework displays in Monaco, visible from Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.
Site Cap Moderne : visites guidées de 2 h 30 (réservation obligatoire) : 15 € par personne. Le 3 juillet,
visite de 10 h à 12 h et brunch de 12 h à 14 h : 55 € par personne.
Renseignements : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tél. 06 48 72 90 53
www.capmoderne.com