Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The villa Berliet is an Art Nouveau residence built between 1911 and 1912 in the Grange-Blanche district of Lyon (3rd arrondissement), for the industrial Marius Berliet. commissioned by the Lyon architect Paul Bruyas, it is part of a vast area of 8,000 m2 acquired by Berliet in 1910 and 1912. The initial Chaussagne Park project, which was set up by the Société Coopérative in 1909, provided for family houses with private gardens in a planned urban setting.

The interior decoration, characteristic of the Art Nouveau style, is the result of a collaboration between master glassmaker Jacques Grüber (glass windows) and cabinetmaker Louis Majorelle (furniture, lighting, decors), both from the École de Nancy. The park, designed by landscaper Joseph Linossier in 1912, completed the whole. An additional wing was added in 1928 by Paul Senglet to expand the family space.

Ranked a historic monument in 1989 and labeled "Twentieth Century Heritage", the villa has been home since 1982 to the Marius Berliet Automobile Foundation, which is open to the public during Heritage Days. The garden factories and ponds, destroyed around 1982, bear witness to the transformations of the estate. Its exact address, 39 avenue Esquirol, is located near the former Berliet factories of Montplaisir and Vénissieux.

The site is part of Lyon's industrial history, linked to the rise of the automobile at the beginning of the 20th century. Marius Berliet, a major figure in this sector, lived there until his transformation into a foundation. The building also illustrates the influence of Art Nouveau in the Rhône-Alpes region, combining residential architecture and technical heritage.

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