Description
A modernist jewel in a preserved natural setting
This beautiful holiday villa was built in 1965 by French architect Jean Reitz. Inspired by the Californian designs of Richard Neutra, he created an elegant, airy house that opens onto nature and the panorama.
Set in 1,900 m² of landscaped gardens, the house offers 130 m² of living space, plus a 40 m² self-contained studio on the garden level.
A beautiful entrance hall distributes on one side the living room with fireplace fully open thanks to a huge sliding bay window onto a terrace with swimming pool, a dining room and a SMEG fitted kitchen. It also opens onto the night area, which comprises three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Outside, a staircase leads down to the independent studio with kitchenette and shower room. A porthole overlooking the swimming pool gives the room a pleasant blue glow.
With uninterrupted views over the green hills, the living areas open onto a superb 8×8 metre free-form swimming pool with original mosaics, and benefit from more than 120 m² of terraces spread over two levels.
A 30 m² garage is linked to the house by a covered passageway running along the rear facade. The property also includes a 10 m² garden shed that could be converted into an additional bedroom. A cellar and utility room complete the property.
45 minutes from Cannes and Saint-Tropez and 50 minutes from Nice Côte d’Azur international airport, the property enjoys absolute peace and quiet in the Tour de Mare area, much sought-after for the quality of its surroundings, ease of access and history. This area was created in the 1960s by a Nice banker, with the aim of providing a leisure and holiday destination for seasonal tourists. The poet Jean Cocteau designed an octagonal chapel in collaboration with the architect Jean Triquenot.
The area offers a wide selection of cultural activities, water sports at sea and on the river, and hiking in the Estérel massif is within easy reach of the house. The Valescure and Estérel golf courses are also nearby.
Synthesis of the arts
Created in the spirit of the 1960s synthesis of the arts, the villa offers bright, open spaces between indoors and outdoors, with a pop, graphic décor. The elements that make up the layout were designed specifically for the project and made to measure, using a palette of noble materials. In the living area, the sculptural fireplace, the built-in wooden furniture with its rounded design and the window frames combine to create a warm, elegant look.
This work continues in the outdoor spaces and on the property’s various terraces, right up to the entrance gate. The balustrades on the terraces, with their geometric ornamentation, echo the colours of the mosaics on the trapezoidal swimming pool.
A landscape project
The villa is set in magnificent landscaped grounds planted with palm trees, cork oaks, olive trees, cacti, citrus trees and other Mediterranean shrubs.
Designed with the site in mind, the house’s horizontal structure combines rendered concrete and local stone, blending in perfectly with the topography of the land. It takes advantage of the sloping ground to open up views over the landscape, while protecting the privacy of its occupants from outside view.
Jean Reitz
Born in Briey in 1929, Jean Reitz trained at the Ecole régionale d’architecture in Nancy, in the workshops of Paul La Mache and Michel Folliasson, from which he graduated in 1960. He began working with his father, André Reitz, in the 1950s in Briey. They became official partners in 1958 and co-designed their projects until André’s retirement in 1978. Jean Reitz practised until 2000.
He worked on a detached house for Mr P. Giry with Georges-Henri Pingusson and André Reitz in 1958, and took over from G-H Pingusson on the school complex project in Briey in 1961.