arrondissement: Marseille 9th

Remarkable architecture from the 1960s, this Californian villa is at the heart of a modernist project that has been awarded the “Patrimoine du XXème” label, on its 800 m2 plot in a wooded park at the gateway to the Calanques. A project with character designed by the Marion Bernard architectural firm.

Before …

Target

Preserve the soul of this single-storey Californian villa, while renovating and enlarging it to adapt it to contemporary uses. Enhance its emblematic architecture and strengthen its link with the surrounding countryside.

Course of action

The renovation was carried out with a view to preserving the original architectural features, while adding modernity and comfort. The Fontvieille stone and hollow brick facade, sliding wooden shutters and low stone walls were carefully restored. Inside, the horizontal fireplace in brick and Cassis stone and the large terrazzo floor have been restored to their former glory.

Achievement

On the south side, the sleeping quarters are distributed on either side of the entrance hall by a corridor punctuated by typical 60s storage units.

To the north-west, the living areas are arranged in a row along the terraces, one of which is extended by a swimming pool in the shade of tall umbrella pines. Each extension of the house has been designed as a continuity towards the outside, with terraces allowing you to take full advantage of the surrounding nature. The living room, dining room and kitchen all open out onto the landscape, allowing for total immersion in the natural environment.

 

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Micro terrazzo and terrazzo : @varponcage
Tiles : @carre_creatif
Sanitary equipment : @richardson.officiel @trone_paris
Brazilian Quartzite worktop : @marbreriegambini_mattout
Woodwork: Rabot
Furniture and artwork : @axel_chay @relax_factory @piece.a.part @francois_bazin_studio @architectureceramique @archik
Painting : @ressource_peintures
Bed linen : @laservietteparis
Handles: @fredericpellenq
Travertine : @talka_decor

Original plans & project

Modernist architecture immersed in nature, close to sea and hills

LE QUARTIER

Private: Pointe-Rouge

At the gates of the Calanques, between Vieille Chapelle and Montredon.

L'ARCHITECTE LA LÉZARDIÈRE

  • Crédits photosJulie Fleutot
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Côté nuit, trois chambres se partagent une salle d’eau contemporaine, et de nombreux rangements intégrés.
Une buanderie et une cave complètent ce bien.
Un appartement intégré dans un complexe architectural et perché dans le ciel marseillais.

Mario Fabre

Mario Fabre était un architecte français formé à l’École Régionale d’Architecture de Marseille, diplômé en 1960. Il a collaboré avec Bernard Laville à partir de 1963, réalisant plusieurs projets immobiliers de prestige pour le promoteur Georges Laville, dont la résidence Château Sec. Fabre a toujours mis l’accent sur la qualité des espaces, le confort des usagers et l’attention au contexte, même dans des projets de grande envergure. Il est décédé en 2024, laissant un héritage architectural notable.

Bernard Laville

Fils de Georges Laville, promoteur-constructeur influent à Marseille, Bernard Laville a suivi sa formation à l’École Régionale d’Architecture de Marseille dans les années 1950. Il a obtenu son diplôme en 1961 et a travaillé dans diverses agences avant de s’associer avec Mario Fabre en 1963. Ensemble, ils ont conçu plusieurs opérations immobilières de prestige, dont la résidence Château Sec. Après la dissolution de leur association en 1969, Bernard Laville a poursuivi sa carrière en réalisant des projets tels que le parc Berger et le Grand Pavois.

In the heart of Mazargues, the exterior of this apartment was already structured by its shape but never really invested. A challenge in only 50 m2!

Target

The exterior of this apartment, located close to the hills of Marseille, was already structured by its shape but never invested. It consisted of a wooden terrace that covered the entire space, and on the side, an outdoor shower/mini pool to cool off in the summer. It was essential for the clients to protect themselves from the opposite side of the house, to occupy this exterior as a real additional living room. A challenge in only 50m².

Course of action

Vegetate the whole space, but also create real distinct living spaces.

Achievement

The shower/mini pool area has been rethought in the choice of materials, a square blue Onyx mosaic has been put in place, to allow this element visible from the living room, to be an “object” highlighted summer and winter. The low wall separating it from the terrace was widened to provide a comfortable seat on both the shower/mini pool side and the terrace side. Facing this element, a module in waxed concrete and red cedar comes to dress the wall until now unoccupied and is broken up of several elements: air conditioner cover, summer kitchen and large masonry bench. These elements allow the installation of a lounge area, to spend convivial moments from the arrival of the beautiful days.

To protect the terrace from the opposite side, the openwork red cedar and metal screens close the terrace on the hillside without depriving the owners of the green view. The colors of the landscape are also found on the terrace: shades of green/gray for the plants, Ravel pottery in white terracotta, and a planter in earth fiber. Even the choice of furniture (Fermob and Arkimueble) links the different shades of the hills and the sea that is so dear to them.

Finally, a custom-made awning protects the entire length of the terrace and custom-made seat cushions have been designed in nautical fabrics, all made to measure for optimal comfort.

A renovation that smells like summer!

LE QUARTIER

Mazargues

A real village in the city, it has kept this spirit around its shopping streets.

L'ARCHITECTE COTE OUTDOOR

paysagistes@archik.fr
  • Crédits photosGabrielle Voinot
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Before …

In the heart of an old Marseille neighborhood, a fisherman’s house with a whitewashed facade has been given a new lease on life after an in-depth renovation. The project was developed around a monumental staircase reminiscent of Valentine Schlegel, taking over each level up to the roof terrace where an idyllic landscape is revealed.

Target

To circulate easily, to benefit from the freshness and to invest the lowest levels, in garden level.

Course of action

Beginning with the roof and extending to the patio, the “root” of the house, the four levels have each undergone a transformation with a common thread: the Mediterranean.

Achievement

Formes organiques et brutes, patines naturelles, murs arrondis et garde-corps maçonnés sont les témoins de techniques méditerranéennes que la rénovation, fidèle, a mis en exergue et magnifiés. Les menuiseries sur mesure en chêne massif, réalisées par Raboniak, soulignent l’ensemble, précis et intemporel. Les différents espaces entremêlés signent un art de vivre méditerranéen. Le rez-de-chaussée décloisonné et ouvert sur le patio accueille une grande bibliothèque et, à part, la suite parentale immaculée. L’espace de vie fait la transition au premier étage entre les deux espaces nuit bien distincts. A l’abri des regards, le toit-terrasse cache une cuisine et un salon d’été à ciel ouvert, dépaysant. Le blanc est à l’honneur dans la maison. Un style contemporain affiché avec des références au design des années 50 – 60, répond au style vernaculaire. Charlotte Juillard, Eames, Paola Navone et Michel Ducaroy habitent l’intérieur. Lise Prévot, Martin Parr et Alexandre Benjamin Navet, quant à eux, les murs. Les luminaires CVL ponctuent le tout. Il s’en dégage une certaine harmonie, rythmée de touches de velours bleu nuit et de lin blanc.

An open-air cocoon, undeniably reminiscent of Greece.

LE QUARTIER

Mazargues

A real village in the city, it has kept this spirit around its shopping streets.

L'ARCHITECTE MARE MEDI TERRA

  • Crédits photosEdwige Lamy
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L’ avant …

In the heart of an old district of Marseille, a fisherman’s house with a bleached façade has been given a new lease on life after a thorough renovation.

Target

To bring freshness, to remain in the Mediterranean theme of the house, and to preserve itself from the opposite.

Course of action

Provide residents and visitors with a unique experience around local plants and color.

Achievement

The patio, mainly mineral, highlights the beginnings of color, by a blue planter with a lush look, in agreement with other elements: swing, shutters, interior colors. Through the interior staircase, the living room reveals a second terrace, a real living space. To limit the vis-à-vis, the pergola has been woven with ropes, to become the support of two bougainvilleas. The color is brought by the choice of the decoration – cushions, plaids, furniture. The linear white pots placed on the wall, host climbing and falling plants, mitigating the linearity of the latter. Ravel’s terracotta pots serve the space and the plants, bringing softness to the whole. By going back up the central staircase of the house, a last layer is revealed to us: the roof terrace with the appearance of a Greek landscape, with this shade of blue on the ground which, on certain days, harmonizes with the sky. The white bench, punctuated with graphic and dry plants, the summer kitchen with white canisses, the woven suspensions and the seaside furniture from Honoré, offer a total change of scenery as soon as the sun comes out.

A real city oasis, bathed in a resolutely Mediterranean air!

LE QUARTIER

Mazargues

A real village in the city, it has kept this spirit around its shopping streets.

L'ARCHITECTE COTE OUTDOOR

paysagistes@archik.fr
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Before …

Mazargues

The district of Mazargues developed around an old village which was in fact a parish.

A real village in the city, it has kept this spirit around two shopping streets: Boulevard de la Concorde and Rue Émile Zola, an extension of Avenue de Mazargues coming from downtown and ending at the Saint-Roch church.

But the main axis of the modern district is formed by the boulevard Michelet, on the north side, and the avenue de Lattre-de-Tassigny, which the Marseillais call “the road to Cassis”. The junction between these two avenues is the Mazargues traffic circle, in the center of which stands an obelisk that completes the great North-South alignment of the city (Porte d’Aix – Castellane – Prado traffic circle – Mazargues).

This district forms a mixture of residential areas and more traditional and dense urban spaces, grouped around old villages. A green area, it offers a good compromise between the city center and the more distant residential areas. The low density makes it possible to find many properties with gardens in the old or semi-recent areas.

Don’t miss the shellfish platters at Chez Claude, at the Mazargues traffic circle. An excellent address in Marseille for lovers of oysters, sea urchins, violets, clams, clams, mussels… over a good white wine with friends!