A spectacular estate
A large residence enjoying lots of space, in the countryside of Provence.
At a time when each square metre is worth its weight in gold, some properties offered for sale can still surprise for their size and varied scenery. A trip that takes us to the gateway to Green Provence…
There are certain places that bask in serenity, landscapes where Mother Nature reclaims her rights… The building melts into the hills, retires to the banks of a lake and blends with the forest. The residence itself consists of 800 m2, but the estate covers 300 acres. Entirely fenced, it is composed of 180 acres of woods, 112.5 acres of meadows and 7.5 acres of ponds.
The estate meets the criteria of an agricultural property. Its present vocation ? Rearing wild animals. Conversion into a private hunting-ground could doubtless be envisaged. The owner lives peacefully with the animals, 250 in all, including sheep, deer, stags from Europe, India and Japan, horses and boars. Seated on the terrace or at the wheel of his 4WD, he gazes bemusedly at the ballet of the hinds, the aloofness of the stags. All rather amazing, when you think that you’re only 30 minutes from Aix-en-Provence…
It’s a passionate man who takes you on your tour : here, sheltered from the winds, amongst Roman ruins dating back to the 1st and 2nd centuries, the property is listed as one of the oldest in the region. In fact, just like Rome, it is surrounded by seven hills. A number that gets multiplied when you try to count the windows on the house’s main frontage. There, an old press, a reminder of the time when olive-trees were cultivated. Another reference to the ancestral occupier is the marble garden table, marble which came from the Candelon quarry, the same that was used for the floors of the Roman villa. The tour has several surprises in store : a rocky outcrop 30 metres high, a glimpse of the Sainte-Victoire mountain, a stream or waterfall… The master of the house tells us of the arena where 450 beasts, including rare Atlas sheep, are captured then driven away to other animal parks. He mentions three successive visits paid by people who came back to see the house and the mulberry trees of their childhood. Poetry adds its lilt to his talk. In neither words nor gestures has he lost any of the emotion which first brought him, his wife and children, to settle in this little corner of paradise.
Adopting a place and its past, transforming the volumes, imagining living space… Nothing daunting for this architect by training. In a house that is always undergoing changes, he talks about design, his favourite discipline. The interior layout is radically different from what one imagines of a Provençal “bastide”. Only the terra-cotta flooring recalls the original style. The space unfurls without interruption, a play on perspective contributes to the structure : a split-level floor, an arcade, visible beams, immaculate expanses of wall, sensual curves… Plants creep in through all the windows. The open-plan kitchen leads to a breakfast nook, a billiard room, a sitting-room, a library or the dining-room. The designer has come up with a table in perfect harmony with the unbelievable Leggera chairs which, as their name implies, are really featherweight. He also created the bookcase which holds together without any screws, thanks to clever use of the weight-balance relationship. An item which was one of his first successes but which no longer inspires him with anything more than personal interest.The designer who started out with Tectona, Lafa and Disderot, one of the few Frenchmen invited to create a prototype for Knoll International, has since entered other spheres. “Less elitist, far from the hammering of the media, which is often pompous and goes for pseudo-contemporary designs”. This Jack-of-all-trades with a touch of genius thus opted for Berchet toys and introduced the “Beaba” brand for children. Among his offerings, the fantastic, appealing and ultra-fast “Babycook” known to all young Mums… “These sectors give design its real value and meaning : an object useful in its time and day, pleasant to look at but, unlike an artwork, destined to disappear. The Anglo-Saxons got it right : for them, the term “design” implies a drawing and an intention, a pleasing form that serves a purpose.” The professional insists on the democratic dimension : “Design enables you to enter people’s homes, anonymously, by putting a smile on the faces of things”.
Once through the study doors, you climb the light wood staircase which opens onto a sobre, geometrical, monastic world. Alcoves for primitive statuettes made of clay or metal, and an area for the drawing tables. Where our designer likes to “translate reflection into emotion, a delicate balance, hard to attain : too much of one and you remain a technician, too much of the other and you become a stylist”. The room just brims with secrets and innovative ideas… Like the future of our host (possibly on the Côte d’Azur, in an ultra-contemporary residence). But that’s another story…
By Laetitia Rossi - Photos Edith Andreotta
