E-1027; Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France; 1929; Other Fathers: Charles-Edouard Jeanerette-Gris and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

E-1027; Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France; 1929; Other Fathers: Charles-Edouard Jeanerette-Gris and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe 

The E-1027 villa was built in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France. It was designed by Eileen Gray, whom is known for her architecture and furniture design. It was constructed with help of local crew members in 1929. During this era, unexperienced female architects were still frowned upon (Willette, “Eileen Gray, Architect: The E.1027 House”). However, she was still able to conquer this stereotype and build this summer getaway for herself and her partner, Jean Badovici (Flint,"Restoring Eileen Gray's E-1027") .

Eileen Gray is well known to be a founder of the modern movement in architecture. The E-1027 made an unusually vital impact to modern architecture. This structure is considered to be her first major project (Muller; Hecker, "Eileen Gray"). The name of the house, E-1027 is symbolized a system communicating the bond between Eileen Gray and Jean Badovici. The E standing for Eileen, 10 for Jean, 2 for Badovici, and 7 for Gray (Flint, "Restoring Eileen Gray's E-1027"). Her relationship with Jean was significant for her, therefore she wanted to express that in naming this villa. Unfortunately, they separated shortly after the completion of the house. 

Gray constructed the villa to be open and have flexibility, focusing on being able to allow those who habit it to experience the space of life as an organic whole. At the same time, she wanted to allow the dweller to maintain intimacy and privacy. She distributed private areas such as nooks that could be used as retreats. The villa does not have any clear-cut entry from above or below but on its foundation. The front façade faces the large body of water, and the sides and back are all solid white elevations with narrow linear windows cutting through the volumes (Willette, “Eileen Gray, Architect: The E.1027 House”). The outside of the structure is solid and only interrupted by balconies and open porches with attached roofs. The villa is mostly supported by thin white columns and covered with a flat roof that is efficient in the tropical climate it resides in. When entering the villa, there is a small kitchen independent from the rest of the program. This compact area for cooking contains a foldout dining table and a reading nook that may be used as an extra bedroom. The L shaped building was designed to interact with the natural elements in its surrounding. It is incorporated with the design of furniture, helping dwellers to maneuver through physical spaces. (Flint, "Restoring Eileen Gray's E-1027.") Eileen was very precise, in her approach, to study how the wind and sun would interact with the villa. She ensured to study these at all times of the year. She also made the villa very strong horizontally, in order to help build a relationship between landscape and sea. 

Conflict between Le Corbusier and Eileen arose shortly after she broke up with her partner. Corbusier, while staying at the villa as a guest, painted bright murals on the walls of the house. This did not sit well with Gray, as she thought the murals were an act of vandalism. Le Corbusier then became tangled with the forthcoming of the house. He eventually purchased property just east of the E-1027, where he built a small, rustic cabin. After his death, the area was declared as "Space Modern" and was considered and area of historical importance.

         Willette, Jeanne. “Eileen Gray, Architect: The E.1027 House.” Art History Unstuffed, Arthistoryunstuffed, 24 Nov. 2017, arthistoryunstuffed.com/eileen-gray-architect/.

         Flint, Anthony. "Restoring Eileen Gray's E-1027." The Journal of the American Institute of Architects. http://www.architectmagazine.com/design/restoring-eileen-grays-e-1027_o

Muller, Christian. Hecker, Stephan. "Eileen Gray" Gili, Gustavo Editorial S.A. August 28, 1993.