La villa Cavrois : le défi du remeublement

Abstract

The Villa Cavrois, conceived and built at Croix (Nord) by Robert Mallet-Stevens between 1929 and 1932 for the industrialist Paul Cavrois is an exceptional example of homogeneous design between architecture, decoration and furnishings. Abandoned by its last owner, emptied of its furniture and vandalized, the mansion was finally purchased by the State in 2001. A global project was undertaken in order to restore the villa to its historical condition, set at 1932, the year it was opened. Various projects for future uses of the building were discussed but in 2008, the Villa was finally entrusted to the Centre des Monuments Nationaux in view to opening the villa to the public. To recover the unity of the villa’s spatial organisation, documentary sources and an inventory of collections enabled the identification and location of surviving pieces of furniture that could be used to refurnish some of the rooms. Coherent ensembles of furniture have been purchased by the State since 2009. The history of this project and the choices made for the presentation of the newly established collections for the opening of the villa Cavrois (13 June 2015) are presented here to offer better understanding of the main steps necessary for their achievement.

Keywords

• architecture
• historic monuments
• Villa Cavrois
• Mallet-Stevens
• 1930s
• Pierre Barbe