Finnish Cultural Foundation is to buy Maison Carré in France

Alvar Aalto designed private home for French gallery owner in the 1950s

print this

The Finnish Cultural Foundation is to buy a private villa called Maison Carré, designed in the 1950s by the famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto for French gallery owner Louis Carré.
      ”The final contract will be signed by the end of April”, reports Antti Arjava, the Secretary General of the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
      The villa is located in the village of Houjarray close to Paris in France. Alongside the Villa Mairea located in Noormarkku, on the western coast of Finland, Maison Carré is one of the most significant private homes designed by Alvar Aalto.
     
Even the original interior of the villa is unique and well preserved.
      Aalto designed the interior of the house in detail, including lamps and furniture which have never been put into production. Also a large number of furniture items and lamps made by the Finnish furnishings company Artek were used for the interior of the villa.
      Some of the furnishings for the villa were designed by Aalto’s spouse Elissa Aalto. Moreover, she was supervising the construction work of the villa, for which even Finnish carpenters were hired.
      Aalto designed Maison Carré for the French gallery owner and art dealer Louis Carré (1897-1977) who ordered the house from the architect in 1956 on the recommendation of artists Alexander Calder and Fernand Léger. In 1959 Carré moved into the villa with his wife Olga Carré.
     
Maison Carré was put up for sale in the autumn of 2002 after Olga Carré died.
      The Finnish Cultural Foundation made an offer for the villa already two years ago. The initial price request set by the estate of Olga Carré was EUR 3.5 million, while the purchase price is EUR 1.5 million. there were apparently no other bidders, in part because the building is subject to strict French conservation regulations after a decision in the 1990s.


Links:
  Finnish Cultural Foundation
  Alvar Aalto
  Artek

Helsingin Sanomat