Villa La Closerie
Monument
Villa La Closerie, located in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (Pas-de-Calais), 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
- Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 50.5193, 1.5885
- Mérimée Reference
- PA62000014
A jewel of the inter-war period, Villa La Closerie unfurls its V-shaped wings in Le Touquet's Ypres garden, a bold blend of English Revival and Art Deco designed by Arsène Bical.
History
In the residential district of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, the seaside town of choice for twentieth-century European high society, Villa La Closerie stands out as one of the most accomplished examples of inter-war resort architecture. Built around 1925 to plans by architect Arsène Bical, this vast residence unfurls its V-shaped plan with sovereign elegance, its two wings embracing the Ypres garden in an architectural gesture that is both welcoming and majestic. What sets La Closerie apart from the countless villas dotting the Opal coastline is the singular alliance it embodies: the neo-English vocabulary - bow windows, brickwork, complex pitched roofs - blends with the ornamental geometry and decorative sophistication typical of Art Deco. This synthesis, characteristic of Arsène Bical's talent, bears witness to a time when the great bourgeois and aristocratic families wanted to combine English comfort and Parisian modernity on the English Channel. The interior of the villa alone is a revelation. Preserved in a remarkable state of integrity, the interior décor bears witness to the period's taste for history revisited: elaborate woodwork, geometric motifs and references to the great styles of the past reinterpreted through the prism of the 1920s. Few homes of this type have survived a century without losing their soul. The Ypres garden, the villa's natural setting, amplifies the overall impression. The foliage and planted vistas highlight the main façade, playing with the northern light to reveal the subtleties of the architectural composition as the seasons change. To visit La Closerie is to step into a vivid picture of the late Belle Époque and the Roaring Twenties, a fragment of time suspended on the Opal Coast.
Architecture
Villa La Closerie adopts a V-shaped plan, a bold layout that allows the two wings of the residence to embrace the Ypres garden and give almost all the rooms a favourable orientation. This spatial organisation, rare in the region's resort architecture, gives the complex a monumental presence while retaining a human and residential scale. The façades, probably in brick combined with rendered elements, reflect the neo-English vocabulary dear to Arsène Bical: steeply pitched roofs, elaborate dormers, bow-windows and meticulous woodwork details are reminiscent of the grand houses of Surrey or Kent. The integration of Art Deco can be seen in the geometric ornamentation, the stylised ironwork, the rhythm of the openings and the composition of the volumes, which, without breaking away from the English picturesque, introduce a graphic rigour and modernity characteristic of the 1920s. This stylistic hybridity is the hallmark of Arsène Bical, who was able to respond perfectly to the aspirations of a clientele keen to combine tradition and contemporaneity. The interior is the villa's real treasure. Preserved intact since its creation, the décor reveals a coherent and sophisticated ensemble: sculpted woodwork, ornate ceilings, geometric tiling and historical references revisited in the 1925 style. Each room seems to have been conceived like a painting, with furniture, wall coverings and light fittings all part of a total mise en scène, a precious testimony to the art of living of the Touquet bourgeoisie between the wars.
Related Figures
Arsène Bical — architecte concepteur de la villa, vers 1925, représentant majeur du style balnéaire néo-anglais et Art Déco sur la Côte d'OpaleLes commanditaires de la villa — membres de la haute bourgeoisie ou aristocratie ayant fait construire cette résidence de prestige au Touquet dans les Années follesLe Touquet-Paris-Plage — ville fondée en tant que station balnéaire par Hippolyte de Villemessant et développée par John Whitley à partir des années 1880-1900, contexte de l'émergence des grandes villas
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Villa La Closerie located?
Villa La Closerie is located in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, Pas-de-Calais department, Hauts-de-France region, France.
When was Villa La Closerie built?
Villa La Closerie dates back to a period built in the modern era (19th-20th century).
Is Villa La Closerie open to visitors?
Villa La Closerie is currently closed to visitors.