By Miriam Balanescu
High on the hillside of Villefranche-sur-Mer, a few miles east of Nice, a stone-walled villa overlooks the Mediterranean Sea and the vermilion slatted roofs of the harbour below. It was here, in search of such a view, that Belgian pilot Philippe Tondeur first happened upon a deserted, derelict water purification plant and decided it was ripe for transformation into a modern home.
Tondeur was unaware that his project would take 15 years to complete. He bought the building in 1996, and enlisted the help of French architect Bernadette Jacques. The brief was clear: keep as many original features as possible and adapt them in any way deemed best. Renovations began with carving into the hillside to construct a new foundation, though complications meant that much of the exterior had to be rebuilt from the ground up.
After Jacques’ overhaul, the combination of carefully preserved features — mechanical wheels, vintage water tanks, monumental pipework — and 20th-century pieces sourced by Tondeur from across Marseille gave the residence a sleek, industrial aesthetic. The period machinery had, from the early 1900s until the 1980s, been used to purify the entire town’s tap water, via a huge tank — now an eclectic centrepiece to the 210 sq metre living space.
“You have to understand that the previous owner was totally crazy — but I say this in a good way,” says the current custodian Guillaume Roth, who bought the place in 2016. “What he did to this factory is impressive… he spent his life on this building, and he always wanted the most expensive materials and the most skilled workers. For him, everything had to be perfect.”
More recently, the house has undergone further renovations by Roth and architect Eric Simonet. The emphasis has been placed on natural materials, chosen to complement the surrounding mountainous hillsides. “We agreed to use only beautiful things, or ‘noble materials’ as we say in French,” recalls Simonet. This meant walnut doors, ceramic tiles and a new terrace through the olive groves.
The house, on the market for €8.9mn, has four bedrooms, all with en-suite bathrooms, a stainless steel chef’s kitchen, several living rooms and a hammam steam room. It’s fitted with modern technology including air conditioning, home automation systems and CCTV. A new teak terrace has been added along with a Jacuzzi that looks out over the “billionaire’s peninsula” of Cap Ferrat.
Despite the new additions, signs of the factory remain. Jacques’ steel-trussed ceiling has been restructured to make way for the master bedroom, suspended over the open-plan living room and designed to resemble a control tower. The villa’s original arched windows have been retained with cast-iron frames, in a nod to the industrial era.
Together, Roth and Simonet have continued Tondeur’s mission of enhancing the factory’s existing attributes, while ensuring a harmonious and homely overall effect. Beyond the main building, Simonet is currently converting old water tanks on the estate into outbuildings and private apartments: “For an interior designer it’s one of the dream projects, to blend the contemporary with old-style features.”
The villa is on the market with Savills.
Photography: Savills
