Also known as the Villa Saint-Clair, this holiday home was designed for the Dollander family between 1949 and 1951. Designed by Henri Prouvé, the architect, and built by his brother Jean, the builder, it has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1989.
In an exceptional setting facing the magnificent Saint-Clair beach in Le Lavandou, Villa Dollander is the first to experiment with the builder’s structural concepts on the scale of a seaside house.
The villa is set in 2,500 m² of beautifully landscaped, enclosed grounds planted with Mediterranean species.
Covering around 100 m², it comprises a day and a night section linked by a covered gallery. The living area comprises a lounge, dining room and kitchen. The property also includes an 85 m² outbuilding (a former garage that has recently been extended and converted), comprising a lounge, dining room, kitchen, three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a garage.
The villa is typical of the construction solutions developed by Jean Prouvé. Set on a slab, its construction system is based around a central beam in folded sheet steel supported by porticos.
Thanks to the full-height glass walls, the different spaces face the sea and the garden. Panels pierced with portholes characteristic of Jean Prouvé’s work create a play of light and a continuous porosity between inside and outside.
Inside, the terracotta tiled floor, the partitions and ceilings covered in natural wood panelling or painted in soft colours, and the bamboo canopy create a warm, bright atmosphere.
“Prouvémania”: between art and real estate
Somewhere between architect, engineer and designer, the “builder” Jean Prouvé left his unique mark on the history of architecture and construction. Henri Prouvé, his younger brother, was a more discreet figure in modern architecture, building mainly in eastern France.
Jean Prouvé’s work is now enjoying international recognition, at the crossroads of two phenomena: heritage and commercialisation. The demountable nature of Jean Prouvé’s houses blurs the boundaries between architecture and design. Since the 2000s, their value on the art market has risen sharply, thanks to the principle of selling them in “pieces”. This phenomenon of ‘fragmentation’ has often been criticised for its excesses and its contradiction with the principle of heritage preservation, which is committed to maintaining the unity and cohesion of the work.