Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Saint Paul de Vence
Architect Yves Bayard and his wife, designer Jacqueline Morabito, have reconstructed a 16th-century sheep barn, located amidst an olive grove at St-Paul-de-Vence,into an amazing house. The white walls and concrete floor covered with a coating of wax, white furniture and translucent lamps add aeriality to the construction, an airy bridge to the library running across it. The ceiling seems especially high due to the narrow windows. The house is equipped with baroque furniture, manufactured on the basis of Jacqueline's sketches. The whole collection of religious items (a rosary, a crucifix, prayer books, black-and-white portraits by Le Corbusier and Jacques Prevert, and pictures of Andre Gide, Dzsunicsiro Tanidzaki and Kasimir Malevich on the second floor make it clear that this house is a place of constant search for Truth. The bathroom is fitted out with an oak platform with a bath on it, a mirror leaning against the wall. The well-groomed olive grove creates a picturesque landscape and yields well.