House E-1027, (Roquebrune-Cap-Martin); 1926-29; International Style

House E-1027 is a villa that was designed by architect Eileen Gray. This house was considered one of Gray’s most significant works because the design of the house was able to show the difference between decoration and architecture. The name E-1027 was actually a code for Eileen Gray and her lover, Jean Badovici. The E stood for Eileen, 10 stood for Jean, 2 stood for Badovici, and 7 stood for Gray. The numbers stood for the numeric placement of the letters in the alphabet (i.e. J is the 10th letter in the alphabet). The construction of the house completed in 1929, which means Gray was 51 years old at the time. Gray wanted this house to be a sort of place for romantic getaway, but Gray and Badovici were never able to agree on what to do.

The space was designed in a way that would resemble how people living inside would move in the space. Inside the house, Gray put built-in cabinets, drawers, guest rooms, and other spaces that allowed privacy. In addition, there were little windows that provided an amazing view, lounges, reading stands, dining tables, and tea and gramophone trolleys. (“architectmagazine.com”) The outside of the house looks like a box that is stuck into the hillside. It is supported on pillars and has horizontal strips of dark windows. The house was said to be built according to The Five Points of Architecture by Le Corbusier. This was because the house had pillars, an open facade, horizontal windows, and a roof that is accessible by a staircase. The House E-1027 also incorporated important qualities that the buildings of other modernists lacked. The floor is shaped like an L, has two floors, a flat roof, and windows that go from floor to ceiling. Gray did not like Le Corbusier’s principle of how a house is a machine for living. Instead, Gray’s design for E-1027 had an open and flexible design. The design allows for the person inside to experience not only the interior, but also the exterior and the environment around it. Gray appreciated the aspect of Le Corbusier’s designs where a sense of intimacy and privacy was maintained. (“E-1027 House - Data, Photos & Plans.”)

Because Eileen Gray was also a furniture designer, most of the furniture inside of House E-1027 was designed by her. For example, there was a deckchair named the Transat. She also built cupboards and storage units. She built them in a way that paid more attention to things such as how the light would fall onto the surface of the furniture, how the drawers would open, and whether the mirrors could be arranged in a way that could allow the person to see the back of his or her heads. (“Eileen Gray's E1027: a Lost Legend of 20th-Century Architecture Is Resurrected.”)

Eileen Gray was born near Enniscorthy, in County Wexford, Ireland as Katherine Eileen Moray Smith. Originally, Gray made a name for herself as a designer for decorative panels and lacquered walls. (“Eileen Gray, 1878-1976”) She has become so known in the Modernist movement that she is the only female to be mentioned along with Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, and Marcel Breuer’s names. Once Gray and her lover broke up, she went on to build another house called Tempe à Pailla, above the nearby town of Menton.


Works Cited

Architectmagazine.com, www.architectmagazine.com/design/restoring-eileen-grays-e-1027_o.

“ARAM | Eileen Gray.” ARAM Eileen Gray, www.eileengray.co.uk/.

“Eileen Gray, 1878–1976.” Bibendum - Classicon EN, www.classicon.com/eileen-gray-en.html.

“E-1027 House - Data, Photos & Plans.” WikiArquitectura, en.wikiarquitectura.com/building/e-1027-house/.

Moore, Rowan. “Eileen Gray's E1027: a Lost Legend of 20th-Century Architecture Is Resurrected.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 2 May 2015, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/may/02/eileen-gray-e1027-villa-cote-dazur-reopens-lost-legend-le-corbusier.