House with poolMarseille 6ᵗʰ (13)

A villa designed by André Stern in the 6th arrondissement of Marseille, opposite Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, with a panoramic view of the city and its bay. Situated on a rocky headland, the villa that its designer and first occupant christened 'The Eagle's Nest' certainly lives up to its name, taken from the name of the vegetable garden which it was built on. After climbing the steps of a typical Marseille street, once you have gone through the front door, a flight of brick steps framed by exotic vegetation such as a Japanese pagoda tree, cycas and ice plants runs along the rear facade and leads to the house entrance, which looks almost suspended above a limestone fault. The tone is set before you enter the vast premises: a huge patio door gives you a view of the character and architectural style of the curved building. More than 400 m² of living space has been designed to fit in with the landscape and environment, with a vast terrace and terraced garden that look out over the Mediterranean Sea. The architect, town planner and scenographer André Stern, a disciple of Le Corbusier, had this unusual house built for his family between 1984 and 1987, based on a 16th century Indian mandala design. The building’s architecture is unique, both in terms of its appearance and the materials used. It has an inverted half-shell roof with glulam beams, large round windows, a concrete and aerated concrete structure, geometric features repeated in rhythm, and even reflected in the shape of the swimming pool.