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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

La Villa Lafont, also known as Villa La Ferrandière, is a bourgeois house located in Villeurbanne, in the district of La Ferrandière, at the corner of Marc-Sangnier and 4-September streets. Sponsored in 1921 by industrialist Adolphe Lafont, owner of an adjacent clothing factory (now extinct), it embodies a fusion between architectural modernity and ancient references. Designed by the Construction Technical Bureau under the direction of the engineers Léon Lelièvre and Léon Barbier, its reinforced concrete structure is inspired by Tony Garnier's principles, with elements such as a roof terrace, a pergola and a bowlow.

The interior decoration, initiated by Madame Lafont, is inspired by the villas in Pompeii. There is a frieze painted by R. Burretta (copy of the house of the Vettii), bas-reliefs by the sculptor Cavina, and marbles by Ernesto Giavina. The stained glass windows, signed J. Mayosson and Jacques Grüber (from the old Lyon apartment of the Lafont), add an Art Nouveau touch. One of them is inspired by the child and the Colette Sortilèges. The historian Anne-Sophie Clémençon restored in 1980 the correct assignment of the villa, originally confused with Tony Garnier's work.

Ranked a historic monument in 1991, the villa is protected for its facades, roofs, stairs, halls, wedding hall, and its garden with its fenced wall. It illustrates the alliance between technical innovation (armed concrete) and neoclassical aesthetics, reflecting the aspirations of a Lyon industrial bourgeoisie in the early twentieth century.

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