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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Ker Ar Bruck villa is a metal house built in 1889 in Morgat (Crozon), according to the process of Joseph Danly. It embodies the innovative seaside architecture of the late 19th century, with a fully galvanized iron structure and modular panels made of zinc coated iron sheet. Designed without base, it rests on a double crown of U-shaped beams, while its interior walls are lined with wood and plaster. Its L-shaped plan includes a main wing facing the beach, complemented by a wing and a half wing in return.

The villa is built as part of the development of the seaside resort of Morgat by Richard et Cie, founded in 1884 by Louis Richard and Armand Peugeot. In 1894, he allegedly convinced his friend Maurice Desmaret, a Parisian annuitant, to buy a plot near his own Bellevue villa to install this demountable house. The Desmaret family remained the owner until the late 1970s. Between the 1950s and 1960s, changes were made, such as the addition of a veranda and the digging of a cellar, the house being originally without any base.

Ranked a historic monument in 2004 for its facades and roofs, Ker Ar Bruck is considered the last house of this architectural type still in good condition and inhabited in France. His history is sometimes associated with rumours, such as that of an origin linked to materials recovered from a metal theatre under the Eiffel Tower, or a presentation at the Universal Exhibition of 1889. However, these assumptions remain unconfirmed. Its designer could be a Belgian engineer, and its construction is part of a pioneering real estate program to attract an affluent clientele to the region.

Architecturally, the villa is distinguished by its wide sea-side openings, a long gabled skylight, and a bell tower overlooking the slate roof. Interior, sober, is lined with wood and plaster. Its exceptional state of conservation and its status as a listed monument make it a unique testament to the constructive innovation of the period, mixing industrialization and seaside aesthetics. Another similar house, in Poissy, was rehabilitated in 2019 after almost disappearing.

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