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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Villa Dollander, located in Lavandou in the Var, is a holiday home built between 1948 and 1951 for the Dollander family. It illustrates the architectural innovation of the post-war period, with an industrialized metal structure designed by Jean Prouvé, builder, and Henri Prouvé, architect. The central beam in bent steel, the metal portals and the roof in recessed steel trays form a bold constructive system, complemented by wooden and glass walls. The furniture, designed and manufactured by the Prouvé workshops in Maxéville, was preserved, strengthening the unity of the project.

The villa is part of the housing industrialization movement carried by Jean Prouvé, which aimed to rationalize the construction while offering functional and aesthetic spaces. Placed on a slab, it embodies a synthesis between technical modernity and adaptation to the site, near the beach of Saint-Clair. Its inscription as a Historic Monument in 1989 underlines its heritage importance, both for its architecture and for its original furniture, an intact witness to the experiments of the Prouvé brothers.

The plans, signed by Henri Prouvé but attributed to John after study, reveal close collaboration between the two brothers. The Dollander villa remains a rare example of a house foreshadowing the principles of prefabrication and modularity, while harmoniously integrating into the Mediterranean landscape. Its exceptional state of conservation, including interior design, makes it a major milestone in the history of 20th century architecture in France.

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