ancienne villa Magdalena ou Kermadalen, puis villa le Minaret, actuellement Hôtel le Minaret
MonumentHidden Treasure
ancienne villa Magdalena ou Kermadalen, puis villa le Minaret, actuellement Hôtel le Minaret, located in Bénodet (Département 29), is a modern edifice built in the 19th-20th centuries. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Modern (19th-20th century)
- Location
- Bénodet, Département 29, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.8723, -4.1106
- Mérimée Reference
- PA29000010
The architectural jewel of Bénodet, Villa le Minaret (1926-1928) boldly blends Moroccan orientalism with the ocean liner aesthetic designed by Albert Laprade - a rare and bewitching work overlooking the Atlantic.
History
Nestling in the greenery of Bénodet, at the mouth of the River Odet, Villa le Minaret is one of the most unusual buildings in Brittany. Built between 1926 and 1928 by the architect Albert Laprade, its composite silhouette is both bewildering and fascinating, halfway between the medina of Rabat and the great transatlantic liners that plied the seas at the time. Nothing in the Breton landscape resembles this building. What makes this monument absolutely unique is the creative tension that drives it: Laprade combines two seemingly opposing worlds. The contrasting volumes, the whiteness of the facades, the roof terraces with railings and the projecting prismatic windows irresistibly evoke the modernity of the Mouvement Moderne, while the assumed asymmetry, the references to Arab architecture and the composition of the garden betray a profoundly oriental soul. This duality is the beating heart of the villa. To visit the Minaret today is to enter a timeless space. A charming hotel for several decades now, the building has managed to preserve the essence of its original soul: part of the interior décor, the skilful composition of the garden that Laprade designed with the same care as the architecture itself, and that inimitable silhouette that you discover with amazement from the coastal road or the walks along the Odet. The setting further enhances the magic of the place. Bénodet, a popular seaside resort since the Belle Époque, offers the villa an environment of maritime pines, Atlantic light and sea breezes that emphasise its whiteness and sharp lines. Photographers find it an inexhaustible subject, depending on the time of day and the season, as the villa plays with light in such a spectacular way. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1997, Villa le Minaret bears witness to the ability of twentieth-century architecture to transcend cultural and geographical boundaries. Ninety years after its construction, it remains a living architectural object, inhabited and admired.
Architecture
The Villa le Minaret is part of the trend known as 'liner architecture', a style characteristic of the inter-war period that borrowed its formal vocabulary from the great transatlantic liners: white, horizontal volumes, flat roofs with tubular railings, portholes and banded windows. But Laprade added a rare layer of cultural complexity: the general asymmetry of the volume, the slender tower reminiscent of a minaret, the arches and proportions of the exterior spaces are all reminiscent of the Andalusian and Moroccan architecture he had absorbed in Rabat. The exterior is striking for its contrasts: rendered façades with a Mediterranean whiteness sit alongside projecting prismatic windows that project their geometric volumes outwards, catching the low-angled light of the Brittany coast. Accessible roof terraces extend the living space towards the sky and the maritime horizon, while the overall silhouette, seen from the garden, plays on a skilfully orchestrated asymmetry that rejects any conventional frontal monumentality. The garden, to which Laprade paid as much attention as he did to the buildings, is an architectural component in its own right. Structured according to principles inspired by Arab gardens - the interplay of plant volumes, shaded transitional spaces, the staging of perspective - it is in constant dialogue with the villa's façades. The interior has retained some of the original decorative elements, in particular the tiling and wood panelling, which reinforce the oriental atmosphere sought by the client.
Related Figures
Albert Laprade — architecte de la villa (1926-1928), figure majeure de l'architecture franco-marocaine du XXe siècle (1883-1978)Docteur Heitz-Boyer — commanditaire de la villa, médecin personnel du Glaoui de MarrakechThami El Glaoui — pacha de Marrakech, dont le médecin Heitz-Boyer était au service, personnage central du Protectorat français au MarocHenri Prost — architecte en chef et urbaniste du Protectorat marocain, mentor de Laprade à Rabat à partir de 1915
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is ancienne villa Magdalena ou Kermadalen, puis villa le Minaret, actuellement Hôtel le Minaret located?
ancienne villa Magdalena ou Kermadalen, puis villa le Minaret, actuellement Hôtel le Minaret is located in Bénodet, Département 29 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was ancienne villa Magdalena ou Kermadalen, puis villa le Minaret, actuellement Hôtel le Minaret built?
ancienne villa Magdalena ou Kermadalen, puis villa le Minaret, actuellement Hôtel le Minaret dates back to a period built in the modern era (19th-20th century).
Is ancienne villa Magdalena ou Kermadalen, puis villa le Minaret, actuellement Hôtel le Minaret open to visitors?
ancienne villa Magdalena ou Kermadalen, puis villa le Minaret, actuellement Hôtel le Minaret is currently closed to visitors.