Creative epicenter

FOR THE VILLA OF A FAMILY OF ART COLLECTORS ON LAKE GENEVA, SPACE FOR ART, BUT ALSO FOR FRIENDS, PARTIES, KIDS.

Creating a home for art collectors puts the designer at a crossroads. A decision must be made: a neutral enclosure where art is the protagonist, or a functional setting in which people coexist with the art. Lionel Jadot, interior designer of this villa, went for the latter. The building on the shore of Lake Geneva was designed by the architect Marc Corbiau. Three levels, including a basement, five bedrooms, about 400 square meters of space. The clients are a young family with children and many contemporary artworks. Jadot is an unconventional designer based in Brussels. «The task was to highlight the art collection», he explains. «Luckily I was able to work closely with the architect as the building took form. The design focuses on an imaginary personality, a person interested in bizarre things, a collector of minerals». The functional organization is simple, with the living area on the ground floor, the bedrooms on the first, and the recreation-fitness spaces in the basement. Art is everywhere: «The position can change over time, adapting to new items», Jadot says. «I didn’t want to make a “white cube” but a place in which to coexist with the collection». The materials are a collection in their own right, with volcanic stone for the outdoor zones and pool, slate and granite for the floors of the living area, precious but also recycled wood, crafted metal for the elegant doors between the living and dining areas, Corten and concrete. Contemporary furnishings interact with historic pieces, industrial objects, and many creations by artist/designers. One example: the Belgian Ado Chale, master of metals and mosaics, in his nineties but still going strong.