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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The villa Pretty Cottage, formerly Scarabée, is an iconic villa located in the Touquet-Paris-Plage, Hauts-de-France. Built in 1927 by architect Louis Quételart, it is distinguished by its architectural style inspired by Dutch houses. Its original name, Scarabée, comes from the green varnished tiles in the shape of a beetle that initially covered its roof, evoking the shell of this insect. These tiles, now missing, gave the villa a unique visual identity and a direct reference to Flemish craftsmanship.

The facades and roofs of the villa were listed as historic monuments on 1 December 1997, recognizing their heritage value. The construction, made of brick with rounded piles at the corners, has a covered with long, broken sections in plumbing Flemish tile. The interior organization, centered around a hall distributing the main rooms, reflects a functional and aesthetic design. The chimney stumps, aligned with the facades, and the oculi pierced in them add to its distinctive character.

The Scarabée villa illustrates the care given to architectural details, visible in the complexity of the assemblies and brick fittings. Its location in the heart of a plot, with a housing body extended by wings housing rooms and garage, shows rigorous planning. Although the original green tiles have disappeared, the structure retains its identity thanks to the shape of its roof, always evoking a beetle. This monument bears witness to the influence of North European architectures in the seaside landscape of the early twentieth century.

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