The Irish-English interior designer Eileen Gray is not widely known today, but in 2009 her 1919 ‘Dragons” armchair sold for US $31m, the most even paid for a single piece of furniture. In 1925 she commenced construction of a gorgeous villa on the French Riviera called E-1027, a pioneering masterpiece of modernist architecture. We tell the incredible story of the villa, a story of love and betrayal with her partner Jean Badovici, the obsession of the famous Le Corbusier that would possess him his entire life, and the scandal and murder that haunted the house itself.

DELIVERY MODE

• Face-to-Face

SUGGESTED READING

• Barthes & Dziersawska, Eileen Gray: A House Under the Sun, 2019

COURSE OUTLINE

• Outline of Eileen Gray’s career as interior designer and architect
• Detailed discussion of the E-1027 villa, with extensive photos and plan
• Discussion of Le Corbusier’s obsession with the villa, including his neighbouring works
• Discussion of the life of the villa, including its decline and renovation

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Understand the role of Eileen Gray in the development of modernist design and architecture in the early 20th century, and the details of one of her masterworks, the E-1027 villa.