Dragon Hill, a dream on the Riviera by Jacques Couëlle

Appointment given near Cannes, in the hamlet of Castellaras-Le-Neuf, in Mouans-Sartoux. Before entering the private domain, it is necessary to show white paw, then to go through the sinuous and raised alleys until destination. A hammered metal gate stamped Dragon Hill slides slowly, revealing a strange house with organic shapes, located in a vast landscaped garden. In the background: the ridge lines of the Estérel massif match those of the Grasse hinterland, while the bay of Cannes sparkles in the distance. An extraordinary setting filled with poetry, for a house that is just as unusual.

Past the gate, we discover in the park sculptures signed by international artists: Carlo Cruz Diez, Antony Gormley, Paul McCarthy, the duo Martine Feipel and Jean Bechameil. Then the house, with its sinuous lines, covered with an undulating roof whose lines blend with the horizon. It could almost disappear into its environment, as much as it fits in. It is a landscape house, as its architect, Jacques Couëlle (1902-1996), called it. A synergy between architecture and nature, at the heart of current issues. “The result is poetry and a narrative, very eloquent and rare. Its aspects respond to the questions of the 21st century, such as ecology, the environment and respect for the sites” says Maxime Combot, the director of the site. When you enter inside, you feel entwined, thanks to the curved and low ceilings of the villa, which recall the primitive habitat, the cave. But here, the cave is a cozy cocoon, decorated with curved furniture in light colors, which perfectly matches the organic lines of the house. «Every year, we put a designer in the spotlight to develop common areas. This time, we gave carte blanche to Olivia Cognet, a ceramist who settled in the former workshop of Roger Capron in Vallauris, participating in the revitalization of the village”, continues Maxime Combot.

With great sensuality, the villa is nestled in itself and wraps around a central patio housing an indoor garden. There, a monumental gargoyle hugs a wall, allowing a trickle of water to flow, the sound of which gives voice to the house. Covered with hammered lead sheets, the structure shows patina effects that recall eroded rock. The walls, coated with a thick white plaster, give this kind of fantastic cave a rustic and reassuring look. Curved in profile, they wrap more than they delimit. Each opening, irregular, frames the landscape like a painting. Some are decorated with thick stained glass, blocks of colored glass set with concrete, while others are dressed in ironwork whose design evokes thorns or brambles, as to protect the place from possible invaders. These are the work of ironworker François Thévenin, a loyal collaborator of Couëlle. Here, nothing is standard; everything is custom-made. Up to the handles, made from hand-pressed clay and then cast into bronze. The house appears like a total work of art, it evokes a reinterpretation of the Art Nouveau style. And for good reason, Jacques Couëlle trained with one of the landscape designers of Park Güell in Barcelona, from Antoni Gaudi. An early anchoring to the curve and the landscape, founder of his journey.

Passionate about archaeology and Romanesque art, Jacques Couëlle (1902-1996) is also a great observer of nature and animal habitats: burrows, caves or corals, which influence his constructions. His technique is artisanal, he models his projects by hand, in the manner of a sculptor, making clay and iron wire models. For Couëlle, the house is never a machine to live in but a protective shell. “My houses are living beings. They have a nervous system, stomach, intestines and heart,” he explained. To design them, he used a technique of his own, which he called the “test of Tristan”. He covered the ground with sand and roughly sketched the location of future rooms. Then he asked his clients to mimic their movements in their future home. The traces left in the sand then became the matrix of the project. An empirical system, leaving ample room for improvisation. Couëlle is thus the pioneer of the organic architecture movement that was set up in the 1960s, with several protagonists such as the couple Pascal Haüsermann and Claude Costy or Pierre Szekely. But also Antti Lovag of which he was the professor, the creator of the incredible Palais Bulle acquired by the couturier Pierre Cardin in 1992. If he modeled his houses as sculptures, Couëlle has always refused the label of architect-sculptor and claimed to be an artist. His last project, in the late 1980s, was built for the Bettencourt couple. A shell house located on the island of Arros, Seychelles.

60 years after its construction, Dragon Hill continues to defy fashion. At a time when architecture seeks to reconnect with the landscape rather than dominate it, the vision of Jacques Couëlle seems surprisingly current. Behind its free forms and organic curves, the house recalls a simple idea: to live is first to find refuge. Today, this refuge is no longer home to the summer guests of the sixties Riviera, but a new generation of creators, perpetuating its experimental and free spirit.

Jacinthe Gigou is an art and architecture historian, specializing in modern heritage. Based in Brussels for over twenty years, she works to promote and spread the architecture of the 20th century through curatorial, editorial and cultural projects. After managing the estate agency Arkadia, she founded in 2021 Modernista, a platform dedicated to Belgian modernism. She regularly collaborates with various media in Belgium and abroad, and has published several books on modernism and brutalism, including Bruxelles moderniste (Racine, 2025), Brutalism in Belgium (Prisme, 2024). She is also attached to external relations at the Faculty of Architecture La Cambre Horta (ULB).