50s Villas in France

While the architecture of the reconstruction has been studied exhaustively, the villas of the 1950s remain little known. However, they experienced a remarkable popularity after the war with the emergence of a more modest enlightened bourgeoisie. In the shadow of the large complexes, they constituted a laboratory which allowed architects to innovate, but also to put into practice the teachings of the masters, while diverting them with the spirit of provocation characteristic of the era. Based on spatial organization, innovations in the use of plastic, the mixture of old and new materials, color, and openness to nature, the French architectural vocabulary is nourished by American, Scandinavian, Japanese and Brazilian influences. Regionalist, organic, rationalist, spatio-dynamic or total works of art, modern villas, built by masters, young architects, engineers or artists, from Alvar Aalto to Pierre Soulages, represent the dream of a generation.

23 x 28.5 cm

224 pages

280 black and white and color illustrations

ISBN: 978-2-9092-8394-4

Text in French only

 

Après avoir soutenu un DEA d’histoire de l’architecture, Les Villas des années 50 en France, Raphaëlle Saint-Pierre a été chargée, en 2003-2004, d’une mission avec Docomomo France sur la reconstruction du Havre en vue de son inscription sur la liste du patrimoine mondial. Journaliste pour Architectures à vivre, EK, Le Moniteur et D’A, elle est notamment l’auteur de Villas 50 en France (Paris, Éditions Norma, 2005), Trésors des châteaux de France (Paris, Éditions Molière, 2007).