Villa « Maïtena »

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

The villa 'Maïtena' was built for Louis Fabre, an industrialist in Maubourguet, owner of the foundry situated a few metres to the west of the house. In 1934, he approached two architects from Tarbes, Jean Gassan and Jean Martin, to enlarge a 'chalet' of which he was owner. It is the project of Jean Gassan (1898-1958), in the neo-Basque style, which is retained; this choice would be due to the fact that Louis Fabre owned a residence on the Basque Coast, however the project is very similar to the numerous villas that Gassan had already realised in Tarbes, notably in the Ormeau development and the Fould district. The project to transform the chalet is quickly abandoned - after September 1934 - in favour of the construction of a villa in neo-Basque style. The successive versions proposed by the architect show an accentuation of regionaliste characteristics and neo-Basque picturesque: multiplication of false timber framing, addition of corbels, genoese tiles, balconies, modification of the design of openings. The descriptive specification of works is dated 3 November 1934, the land is purchased on 16 January 1935 and the first stone is laid on 21 February 1935.

Description

The villa is built at the centre of a tree-filled park of 6250m2, at the corner of rue des Pyrénées and rue Jacques Bounneau, at the south entrance of the commune of Maubourguet. The main entrance, marked by a concrete pergola, was formerly on rue des Pyrénées. Access is now made by the secondary entrance rue Jacques Bounneau since the division of the park following the sale of the house in 2020. The villa of approximately 250m2 comprises two entrances, the main entrance on the south, with a recessed porch which is reached by a perron, and the service entrance on the west side, sheltered by a canopy. The main façades, south and east, open onto the tree-filled park. They are enlivened by numerous projections (projecting blocks and loggias underlined by corbels forming cushion shapes, balconies at the corners - a topical feature of neo-Basque style -, buttresses punctuating the façade). These façades also concentrate the essential regionaliste codes: asymmetry, false green timber framing set off against white render, base course in irregular stonework, wooden slatted screens of Spanish tiles on the balconies of the loggia. The construction date, 1935, and the name of the villa - 'Maïtena', 'the beloved' in Basque - appear, in Basque script, beneath a corbel to the left of the porch. The north façade, more plain, is marked by the large stepped thermal opening lighting the staircase. The two garages are attached to the north-west. The basement occupies the whole surface of the house. It comprises a coal cellar, the boiler room, a pantry, a small photographic laboratory and a larder which has retained its original tiling and cupboards. The whole of the ground floor distribution is controlled by the hall, which extends across the entire width of the building. Preceded by a porch, it integrates the main staircase into its volume. It serves the living and reception rooms distributed to the east and south - salon, study and dining room - while the service rooms (kitchen and laundry, linen room, bathrooms, pantry, washing room and garage) are situated at the rear, served by a corridor leading to the service entrance. Gassan deploys in this space a very Art Deco style: symmetry of openings, ramp with rounded steps echoing the design of the large thermal opening occupying almost the full height of the wall (the projects show several versions of the ramp, including or not a handrail), chequered pattern of the floor in mosaic with very careful laying out, while the glazed entrance door echoes the rounded form of Navarrese doors dear to the neo-Basque style. The original render and light fittings are preserved. The salon, study and dining room were adorned with wallpapers; their floor is in 'first choice Landes pine' floorboards and the study preserves a fine fireplace with a griotte marble and sarancolin curved hearth. The dining room offers the most regionaliste decoration: beams and joists in apparent staff, massive fireplace with granite jambs and wooden lintel carved 'Bilzen berotzen bozten' (to rejoice in the warmth), accompanied by a set of furniture in the neo-Basque style whose designs are preserved in the archives and which has been repurchased by the current owners. The fireplace andirons and plaque, also of regionalist inspiration but of the Bigourdan region, come from the Fabre foundry, as do the bells of the two entrances and the grilles of the garden drainage. The kitchen is the only room to have been renovated, but it retains its original tiling, as does the former linen room (now serving as an entrance), the bathrooms and storage cupboard. The washing room also retains its tiling as well as the old wash-house, and communicates with the garage which still presents all its equipment (drain valve cover, storage, mechanism of the iron shutter).