villa E-1027, eileen gray’s modernist masterpiece, opens to the public

villa E-1027, an icon of modernist architecture by eileen gray, opens to the public on france‘s côte d’azur following an extensive restoration project. situated on the craggy coastline of roquebrune-cap-martin, the two story house was first designed and built between 1926 and 1929 and it’s widely considered as the irish architect and furniture designer’s masterpiece. since 2014, an international team of experts led by non-profit association cap moderne has meticulously restored the building to its original state.

image © manuel bougot

E-1027 has seen a colorful past. its name represents its creator, eileen gray, and architect jean badovici, who was gray’s companion at the time and the owner of the property. ‘E’ stands for eileen, ’10’ represents the letter J for jean, then ‘2’ is B for badovici and ‘7’ signifies G for gray.

image © manuel bougot

gray and badovici parted ways just two years after the completion of E-1027. badovici continued to live in the coastal retreat and in the late 1930s, he invited his friend, le corbusier, to stay. when staying as a guest in 1938 and 1939, the french architect painted a total of seven brightly colored murals on the villa’s pure white walls, much to gray’s anger.

badovici remained the owner of the house until his death in 1956. E-1027 was later emptied of its furniture and left to slowly degrade over time.

image © manuel bougot

nearly a century after it was first conceived, the concrete structure has been reinforced to prevent future corrosion, which was a significant risk due to the coastal position of the property. the furnishings have also been meticulously recreated after studying gray’s drawings and old photographs of the house. all of the furniture of E-1027 was designed by gray, incorporating clever design solutions to optimize space. gray once said, ‘everyone, even in a small house, needs to feel free and independent. they must have the feeling they are alone.’

image © manuel bougot

the restoration of villa E-1027 is now complete as well as the entire cap moderne site, which includes le corbusier’s cabanon and unités de camping, and l’etoile de mer restaurant, along with the visitor center located in at the nearby roquebrune-cap-martin station. the villa is open for guided tours. there are also plans to develop the cap moderne site with a study center for researchers and academics.

image © manuel bougot

‘the restoration of the villa to its 1929 state has been a labor of love for all of us who have worked on the project, and the effect is truly revelatory of the genius of eileen gray and a marvelously dynamic contrast with the surprisingly intimate buildings of le corbusier just by. magical and unique: come and see for yourselves…’ says michael likierman, president of association cap moderne.