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Villa Benkemoun 

A Hidden Architectural Treasure of the 70s

“L’architecture doit être l’expression de notre temps et non un plagiat des cultures du passé.”

– Le Corbusier

The year 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of Villa Benkemoun, an iconic architectural treasure from the 70s, in Arles, southern France, today property of the French writer and journalist Brigitte Benkemoun and her husband, the documentary director Thierry Demaizière, who renovated the villa in 2017. In 1974 Simone and Pierre Benkemoun, Brigitte’s parents, commissioned the architect Emile Sala to design their family home that will remain their residence for almost 50 years. This dwelling has been proclaimed  as part of the 20th century national heritage since 2015, by the French ministry of culture. In 2017, Brigitte Benkemoun and her husband Thierry Demaizière decided to open the doors of the Villa to all lovers of architecture, culture and design. Apart for being a palpable witness of a particular social and political time, the Villa showcases today some of the signature design and art pieces, by Joseph André Motte, Max Sauze, Jeremy Maxwell Wihtrebert, Valent Vert, Victor Vasarely, Alain Jacquet, and Verner Panton, among other names. 

© Ana Malnar: Outdoor view of 500 square meter villa set on an one hectare estate

For Emile Sala, the Benkemoun villa represents probably one of his most matured architectural projects. Influenced by Corbusier, the futuristic design is dominated by generous curves, geometric shapes, and a bioclimatic approach to architecture that implies the consideration of the local climate in design, use of natural resources and a harmonious integration to the natural surroundings. Thus, the residence turns its back to the north, to protect itself from the mistral, and establishes a constant dialogue between the interior and the exterior, multiplying openings, terraces and roof terraces around a patio. The tower which houses an office and a bedroom on two levels recalls the characteristic dovecotes of Provence, as a tribute to the land which welcomes it.

Following the same idea as Corbusier, that a home is a machine of living, Emile Sala was interested in understanding the lifestyle habits of the Benkemon family, ensuring the respect of comfort and autonomy for each member, with three double and two triple suites. The vaste living area, as a central piece of the home, transports us immediately to 1974, in a particular moment in history between democratization and search for abstraction. A time marked by science and technological innovation is reflected in design by the use of round and psychedelic geometric patterns, the craze for nature and modernity, and furniture made of shiny and translucent synthetic materials such as plexi, formica, resin, stainless steel or smoked glass and plastic. The year 1974 is also marked by the inauguration of the Charles de Gaulle airport in Roissy. Designed by the architect Paul Andreu as a “disturbing, brilliant and Kafkaesque construction”, Andreu’s innovative approach to infrastructure design left a remarkable mark on the global architectural landscape, changing the perception on how the urban intertwines with the natural. Revolutionary changes emerged in technology, with the introduction of the first personal computer, and the first commercially available industrial robot produced by the Swedish company ASEA. Needless to say, that the emerging changes created a completely new perception of time, of the relations between the man and the machine, and disrupted the established social norms

The central majestic orange sofa signed by Joseph André Motte, was originally created for the Charles de Gaulle airport in Roissy. Motte played a major role in the post-war modernist movement by favoring industrial materials and experimental forms over decorative furniture. To the wider public, Motte is probably most known for his iconic “Catherine” armchair or its “Chistera” set. The majestic fireplace made of metal petals is possibly the most voluminous design piece of Max Sauze. Known for his mastery of aluminum, Max Sauze has mainly designed lighting fixtures, such as the iconic “Cassiopé” pendant light created in 1970 and a whole series of wall and table lamps.

The Watchful Eye, a ceiling sculpture from the Franco-American contemporary artist Jeremy Maxwell Wintrebert, perfectly integrates the futuristic design of the living area. The artist expresses an intimate interpretation of the Cosmos, in which glass materializes light as the origin of the universe. 

Sergio Sarri‘s painting Grande Tavolo d’Analisi, from 1971, reflects the emerging interest of the 70s in investigating relations between man and the machine. For Sarri, this complex bond has been a central theme in his pictorial research. With extreme technical precision, fragments of bodies pile up on operating tables in an almost surrealistic choreography. Similar to the artistic wave of the 70s, Sarri borrows references from comic strips, science fiction and early 20th-century cinema. 

As the vast majority of the art installations in the Villa, the Trojan House has the same teleportation effect. Exploring the mechanisms of transmission, RM uses the image of a vacuum cleaner to demonstrate the illusory aspect between inside and outside. Bedbugs use vacuum cleaners to travel, propagating from one area to another, as they are swept up by domestic pieceworkes. Industrial vacuum cleaners are their Trojan horses, becoming carriers of invisible Others, whose hosts we become. Even the bugs and the viruses that infest our computers use Trojans to enter, grow and multiply, invading the fictitious sacred space of intimacy. 

The central piece of the bedroom is the spacious Anémone bed by Bernard Govin, another emblematic figure in the history of furniture design. During his life, Govin created various pieces whose fluid aesthetic, full of bold and futuristic curves, still seduces. He joined the famous design house Ligne Roset at the end of the 1960s. The walls are decorated by handmade silk threads signed by Maurizio Vetrugno (1957), an Italian artist who started his career in Bologna. Vertugno’s artistic research moves freely from painting to fashion, combining archaic techniques, such as the embroidery and the batik, with pop, beat and punk tendencies. 

© Ana Malnar: Villa Benkemoun, bedroom details 

A play of shapes and curved lines appears particularly sophisticated in the bathroom, one of the most elaborated spaces of the villa.

© Ana Malnar: Villa Benkemoun, bathroom details 

The 70s bathroom aesthetic drew inspiration from a wide range of cultural influences, including the back-to-nature movement, space-age fascination, and the rise of globalism. These influences manifested in the use of earthy colors, futuristic shapes, and exotic patterns in bathroom design. The era’s emphasis on individualism and self-expression also encouraged homeowners to create bathrooms that were uniquely their own. The showcased bathroom of the Benkemon villa reflects the principles of the back-to-nature movement in design: a philosophy or style of living which emphasizes closeness to nature, rather than artifice and civilisation. 

A kitchen space was probably the most suitable home space of the 70s to express the bold choices and free-spirit of the dweller. One of the most recognizable features of a 1970s kitchen was its use of vivid colors, like the striking yellow Carlo Bartoli dining chairs. In 1974, Carlo Bartoli designed his chair 4875 for Kartell. It is a concentrate of all the energy that Italian design can offer, innovative, inventive and dynamic. The 1970s favored an open concept of living, with the kitchen becoming more integrated with the rest of the home. This layout encouraged a more casual and social atmosphere, perfect for entertaining guests or spending time with family. Another popular feature was the rise of kitchen islands. These islands often featured butcher block tops or colorful laminate finishes, adding both function and style to the space.

The 1970s embraced a bold color palette, with orange, green, and yellow being particularly popular choices for dining rooms. These colors were often used in combination, creating a vibrant and energetic atmosphere. Imagined as a space that openly interacts with the kitchen and is bathed by the interior light, the villa’s dining space enjoys added warmth that gives more depth to this space, not to mention the cork wall, a 70s interior design favorite! The central piece of the room is the spectacular large chandelier designed by Verner Panton and manufactured by J. Lüber AG, Switzerland 1964. This chandelier is from the first production by J. Lüber and this is for a very impressive large chandelier made of numerous small discs of shell suspended from each other in a chain-like manner. The Tulip chair designed by Eero Saarinen in 1955 mirrors its inspiration from nature. A classic example of industrial design, it is often considered “Space Age” for its futuristic use of curves and artificial materials.

© Ana Malnar: first floor details. Picture 3: Olivier Mourgue, “Caddy” chair, 1968. Picture 4: sound of a record playing Kraftwerk’s 1974 Autobahn, scratched by the artist Reeve Schumacher

On the first floor, each space is a reflection on a specific political and social issue of the time. In 1974 France entered a politically uncertain period, with the death of president Georges Pompidou. The oil shock led to a simultaneous rise in unemployment and prices, creating a situation of stagnation. Faced with the crisis, three presidential candidates opposed each other: Dumont who advocated degrowth, Giscard D’Esteing with his liberal approach, and Mitterand proposing a social recovery project with the union of the left

In terms of the design pieces, it is inevitable to mention Albert Jacob, one of the first designers to use tubular chrome steel in furniture manufacturing. Jacob began designing modernist furniture back in the 1920s, characterized by its simplicity, functionality and use of modern materials such as steel and glass. Jacob’s lounge chair, fabricated by Grosfillex in 1970, represents an emblematic piece of the space-age period, with its organic curve and molded plastic shell.

^© Ana Malnar: details of the Political Pavilion, Jacques Villegle: Métro Châtelet, 1974

Danai Anesiadou reinterprets the poster for the 1974 film The Race of Lords with Alan Delon, explores the backstage of political power through the character of a young ambitious politician ready to do anything to achieve his goals. By integrating Greek meander friezes at the bottom and top of the poster, the artist references classical heritage and motifs of continuity and repetition. In the center of the poster she jousts flowers, a symbol traditionally associated with femininity, which contrasts with the virile imagery of the film. In this sense, it offers an alternative reading, calling into question the stereotypes of power associated with the male figure.

The most intriguing artistic piece of the pavilion is without doubt François Curlet‘s sculptural installation Buker for 6 eggs. Bunker for six eggs plays with the incongruous and the ambiguous. Between security paranoia and obsession with conservation, eggs, also reproducible as fragile, are as much imprisoned only protected by the concrete reinforcement. Resuming the iconography of war, the work suggests emptiness of our behavior, the constant search for refuge and security, when everyone wants to do their nest. This profound need to find protection within an uncertain world was visible in 1974, between the first oil shock 1973 and the second 1975, with the drastic explosion of life coasts. Scarcity brings modern humans back to their primitive instincts. Threatened from the outside, the modern man retreats inwards, digs and finds the cave.

The title of Valentin Vert‘s installation Naphtex is a neologism from the Greek root naphtha ‘kind of bitumen’ and narthex, a Mediterranean plant, which according to Greek myth received from its hollow the fire stolen by Prometheus. Drawing on the metaphor of this story, the Napthex series reveals three kerosene combustion systems in the form of burnt boxes. These light installations evoke an attraction to manual techniques as a guarantee of a feeling of authenticity.

With 24 hours in the life of an ordinary woman, Michel Journiac takes us into the daily life of a middle-class Western woman: gestures, postures, occupations outline the archetype of the housewife, the wife and the lover. Inspired by a survey published in Marie Claire magazine which aimed to identify the key moments of a woman’s day and reveal her imagination. Artist and teacher, initiator, notably with Gina Pane and Vito Acconci, of body art in France, Michel Journiac is a key figure in the artistic scene of the 1970s and 1980s. Photography occupied a central place in Journiac’s work, allowing him to stage situations which shaked up the codes of decency and breaked the taboos of the time – homosexuality, cross-dressing, the idea of ​​voyeurism – while ‘attached to subjects of ordinary life: family, housewives, religion.

A living-room kind of area, accentuated by Geoffrey D. Harcourt’s F511 organge lounge chairs and ottoman, and named after Simone Veil, is a space honouring the tremendous progress in terms of women rights in France in the late 70s, particularly sparked by the law on abortion rights, adopted on an experimental basis on December 20, 1974, or the so-called “Veil law”. The idea is to reflect on various aspects of the female condition, from the powerless positions of the docile and dreamy woman, up to the liberation from the socially imposed clichés, as presented by the photographic duo ELSA & JOHANNA. Through a work of autofiction, the duo constructs visual stories, whose references to cinema and photography form a vast feeling of familiarity. Playing with contrasts, these portraits place women in a timeless territory, between dream and reality, between the past and the future.

Our visit to the Benkemon villa will be ended with the return to the source, a mental rest from heavy political and social connotations in the form of Enzo Mari‘s idea of “Autoprogettazione“. By the word autoprogettazione Enzo Mari means an exercise to be carried out individually to improve one’s personal understanding of the sincerity of the project. Therefore, the final product, although usable, is only important because of its educational value. It is a project for making easy-to-assemble furniture using raw boards and nails. An elementary technique to teach anyone to take a critical look at current production. By abolishing the dichotomy between the consumer and the producer, Mari dreams of merging them into a single person.

By associating this approach with the Support/Surface movement, we can see the junction of an artistic history which opposed Pop Art and its materialist fetishization. The “Autoprogettazione” lays the foundations of a broader community of artists who campaign for ecological and poetic principles, and who, like Mari, aspire to a world where art and life become one single reality.

A visit to Villa Benkemoun is truly a travel through the 20th century interior design history. It is an extremely precious treasury of most iconic design pieces, such as those signed by Geoffrey D. Harcourt, Albert Jacob, Eero Saarinen, Bernard Govin, Harvey Guzzini, Gae Aulenti, Carlo Bartoli and Joseph André Motte, not to mention the series of remarkable designers of the younger generation. A visit that stays in our memory, same as the sound of the mistral and sansouires of the Camargue region. 

Text based on the materials provided by Villa Benkemoun for visiting purposes

Contact details: 

villabenkemoun@gmail.com

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