André Wogenscky’s Villa Chupin

In 1959, the architect André Wogenscky, former right-hand man of Le Corbusier, built a holiday home in the middle of a pine forest on the French West Coast for an avant-garde enthusiast and industrial entrepreneur, Louis Chupin.

Chupin didn’t have a big budget, but a precise request for his house: “A place where you wouldn’t feel lost just being 2, nor crowded when 30.”. Applying industrial materials (concrete, steel, glass) in a democratic and functional style, Wogenscky worked on a simple plan, directly inspired by the architectural vocabulary of his master Le Corbusier.

The ground floor is an open floorplan, finished with a curved wall along the living room side. The kitchen is on the same level, but in a separate block attached to the house through a small corridor. The second floor is a simple rectangular plan, with 5 bedrooms, each with its own bathroom.

Almost all 3 sides of the house have no windows, but the South façade is entirely glass, with a cantilevered area exposed to the elements on the second floor. This giant bay window is open to the surrounding landscape, and integrated into the windows are okoume wood niches that work as shelving and seating.

Vera & Pierre Székely, married renowned artists, decorated the house with their sculptures, ceramics and weavings - as well as this beautiful wooden staircase. Despite its sober architecture and austere materials, thanks to all these details and objects, Villa Chupin is a perfectly lively and fun holiday house.