The plans were drawn out by the MTA agency (Marot Tremblot Architecture). «I wanted to make the constructions disappear in the greenery, so I decided to spread them out like a lizard in the sun. […] Considering the trees and the steep and fragile slopes that had to be avoided, the 17 000 m² of building occupied a great part of the land's 23,000 m². Fortunately the program included conference rooms with screening equipment, exhibition spaces with a lot of wall space and artificial light, as well as storage space and parking space, which allowed us to dig several levels into the sand and pebble ground. The great concrete lizard grabs onto the terrain, and near the entrance its tail wraps around a bosco in the shade of which the students can relax.” (Michel Marot).
Site plan (August 23 1966) by MTA Agency (Marot Tremblot Architecture)Villa Arson
East and west exterior elevation of buildings 2, 3, 4 and 5 (May 4 1966) by MTA Agency (Marot Tremblot Architecture)Villa Arson
These elevations show perfectly the horizontal deployment of the architecture, which follows the slope in the same way as the original terraced gardens. « I wanted to make the constructions disappear in the greenery, so I decided to spread them out like a lizard in the sun.” (Michel Marot).
North and south elevation of buildings 2, 3, 4 and 5 (May 4 1966) by MTA Agency (Marot Tremblot Architecture)Villa Arson
East and west elevation of buildings 2, 3, 4 and 5 (May 10 1966) by MTA Agency (Marot Tremblot Architecture)Villa Arson
Elevation without the landscaping
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Building 4 terraces, looking to the south
Key plan (October 25 1966) by MTA Agency (Marot Tremblot Architecture)Villa Arson
Created on July 7, 1966, this plan was modified on October 25 of the same year. It shows the exact distribution of buildings 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
North, south, east and west elevation plans of buildings 1 and 2, March 30 (March 30 1966) by MTA Agency (Marot Tremblot Architecture)Villa Arson
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On the right are the housing accommodations for artists in residence notably, on one level with the garden.
Cross-sections of building 3, May 31 (May 31 1966) by MTA Agency (Marot Tremblot Architecture)Villa Arson
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Building 3, the main element of the architectural ensemble, opens onto a huge hall on two levels.
Cross-sections of building 3, May 27 (May 27 1966) by MTA Agency (Marot Tremblot Architecture)Villa Arson
The old Villa transformed, elevations and cross-sections (May 2 1966) by MTA Agency (Marot Tremblot Architecture)Villa Arson
Cross-sections of buildings 3, 4 and 5 (October 12 1965) by MTA Agency (Marot Tremblot Architecture)Villa Arson
Cross-sections of buildings 4 and 5, May 31 (May 31 1966) by MTA Agency (Marot Tremblot Architecture)Villa Arson
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When he drew his plans, Michel Marot was inspired by Mediterranean villages. He created narrow streets, public squares, meeting places, outdoor amphitheaters, mazes. Here we can see the central street leading to the studios of the art school.
Sanitary system plan (November 1965) by MTA Agency (Marot Tremblot Architecture)Villa Arson
The site of the Villa Arson shown hatched. This plan gives information about the structure of the original gardens.
Direction
Jean-Pierre Simon
In charge of the project
Cédric Moris Kelly
Legal issues
Alain Avena
Digitalization
Under the guidance of Patrick Aubouin
Editorial staff
Patrick Aubouin
Cédric Moris Kelly
Translation
Claire Bernstein
Data entry in Google Cultural Institute interface
Cédric Moris Kelly
Digitalization of spaces by Google Street View team was made possible thanks to the mobilization of Villa Arson technical teams:
Reception, monitoring and maintenance
Joël Jauny
Reception, monitoring & accommodation
Isabelle Clausse
Dave Dhurmajee
Marlène Lebrusq
Jean-Pierre Vitry
Technical / Buildings staff
Jean-Paul Carpentier
Gérard Maria
Pascal Rigaux
Michel Serve
Gardens
Patrice Lorho
Pascal Pujol
Kévin Serviole
Thanks to Michel Marot for the graceful authorization to use the archives collection Marot Tremblot Architecture (MTA)
With the support of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication and the Google Street View and Google Cultural Institute teams
