Villa Cavrois by o0ger, on Flickr

Villa Cavrois by o0ger, on Flickr

Villa Cavrois in Croix, France is a large modernist mansion built in 1932 by French architect Robert Mallet-Stevens. It is a testimony to the modernist vision of the 1920s as it was conceived by designers such as Le Corbusier, Pierre Chareau and the Bauhaus school. Robert Mallet-Stevens also designed the large park-like garden and the interior of the house.

The house has seen many people come and go through the years. In 1940 it was requisitioned by the German Army. It was returned to the Cavrois' in 1947. After the death of Madame Cavrois in 1986 the house was sadly looted and abandoned. In 2001 the French State bought the house and started restorations with a vision of turning it into a museum.

The villa opened to the public on 13 June 2015.

I am a big fan of the modern architecture envisioned in the beginning of the 20th century. Key words from that era were air, light, comfort and efficiency. Following these rules, the architect made a bold move to build the entire mansion out of yellow bricks. The choice of the LEGO-color "brick yellow" (tan) seemed appropriate.

As always when building in this scale you have to choose what details to focus on and what to leave out. The placing of the windows and the overall proportions of the house is what I focus on. I hope you all like my version of Villa Cavrois!

href="http://www.villa-cavrois.fr/

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This is my entry in the Marchitecture 2016 Contest.

reference image:

Edited March 23, 20168 yr by o0ger

Wow. This is lovely. You really captured the essence of the building. I think your focus on window placement and overall proportions really paid off. Thanks for including the background and history of the building too!

This is awesome. You've captured the building beautifully. Modernist architecture translates excellently to Lego, the straight lines and simple colors and slightly off-kilter proportions are tailor-made for brick recreations.Really got me jonesin' for an official set!

Wow. This is lovely. You really captured the essence of the building. I think your focus on window placement and overall proportions really paid off. Thanks for including the background and history of the building too!

Thank you! There are several buildings with interesting stories. But this one intrigued me. And it felt like vindication and a victory for the house in the end!

This is awesome. You've captured the building beautifully. Modernist architecture translates excellently to Lego, the straight lines and simple colors and slightly off-kilter proportions are tailor-made for brick recreations.Really got me jonesin' for an official set!

Thanks! Yes, LEGO seems made for modern architecture! You just have to find the right scale and the right parts! ;)

This may sound silly, but I think the way you made stairs is simply the thing that got me interested in your replica in the first place. Well done making it look offical and clean looking.

This may sound silly, but I think the way you made stairs is simply the thing that got me interested in your replica in the first place. Well done making it look offical and clean looking.

Thank you! The panel technique seemed to fit really nicely in this build. Glad you like it!

Now also on LEGO Ideas: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/139781

Lovely architecture model. You really did a wonderful job replicating the original building in LEGO form The windows, stairs, and trees are my favorite parts

Stunning. It is every bit as good as any set in the Lego Architecture series.

Very nice build, supported it on Lego ideás, The stairs, the pergola and the water mirror is details i like, and the fact that you made the base sturdy, I wish Lego would do this to so I dont have to to it myself every time . The house is interesting and the backstory you provided makes it even more interesting.

Thanks everyone!

I seem to have trouble communicating with the staff of Villa Cavrois and some fansites. Mostly it seems like a language problem. I thought English would work, but I clearly can't make myself understood properly. I don't know if it's because my English is bad or if the French speaking people I communicate with don't quite understand English.

I thought it would be a good idea to involve the Villa Cavrois Museum. But I think I just got an auto-reply or they're not very eager to help.

Any French speaking LEGO Architecture enthusiasts out there who could help me with reaching out to the French? Is there a French LUG or LEGO-forum?

Any French speaking LEGO Architecture enthusiasts out there who could help me with reaching out to the French? Is there a French LUG or LEGO-forum?

Hello, I am french and I can help you. Send me a personnal message if you are interested to get my help