A new metal-framed gallery connects the two buildings at Villa Elaïa, a renovated 1980s property in Mouans-Sartoux, in the hills overlooking Cannes, France.
The gallery forms part of a wider renovation by Marcoux Mathern & Associés, an architecture firm that retained the existing structure while reorganising the interiors and redesigning the outdoor areas. Completed in 2025, the project occupies a three-hectare site planted with olive trees and maritime pines.
The work covered a main villa and a guest villa, with the design developed in anticipation of the property’s future market launch.
Gallery connects the main and guest villas
The principal new architectural element is an external gallery between the two villas. The plans identify the 30m² space as a connecting passage.
Built with a metal frame, the gallery is clad in bronze and fitted with wooden screens. Its contemporary materials contrast with the traditional façades of the existing villas.
“The real challenge was to take an 80s architectural style and completely modernise it while preserving its soul,” said Pierre-Guillaume Mathern, architect and partner responsible for the project.
Mathern said the firm sought to open the property to its surroundings while retaining the character of the original architecture.
Original layout replaced by larger rooms
Inside the main villa, the original layout was reorganised to create larger rooms and more open circulation.
The ground floor includes a 78m² combined living and dining room, a separate kitchen and four-bedroom suites.
Screens surround structural columns and divide areas without closing views between them. A parquet floor designed for the project is laid in a random pattern through the open spaces.
The upper floor contains a 47m² principal suite. Two further suites and a separate kitchen and bar are located in the guest villa.
Beige, chocolate and bronze tones are used across the interiors. Mineral plaster follows the interiors’ rounded edges, while micro-mosaics finish the bathrooms. In the principal suite, transparent resin fills the natural cavities in the travertine.
Each bedroom has its own bathroom, with different details used to distinguish the individual spaces.
Leisure rooms extend below the main villa
The garden level of the main villa contains an office, gym, sauna, hammam, cinema and service spaces. It also includes a wine cellar, which is visible behind a glass partition in the entrance hall.
Outside, the area around the swimming pool was redesigned to include a pool house, a lounge beside a preserved ruin, a pétanque court, a playground and a golf practice area.
Landscape architect Aurélien Liuktus of Nelumbo developed the landscape design.
Wood and stone continue inside the villas, alongside the beige, chocolate and bronze palette. Lighting was developed in close collaboration with Domo Lighting.
The completed project retains the main structure and traditional façades of the 1980s property. The principal interventions comprise the connecting gallery, the reorganised interiors and the redesigned pool and recreation areas.
Photos: Courtesy of Marcoux, Mathern & Associés
