of the Wiener Werkstätte. Mallet-Stevens’s first designs were marked by the Viennese spare and graphic aesthetic. After graduating from the École Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris in 1910, he began his professional life with interior design projects — apartments, shops, exhibition installations — as well as film décor, including sets for L’Inhumaine, an ambitious experimental film by Marcel Herbier, in 1923. These first experiences marked his singular architectural approach; he would conceive his designs from the interior, paying particular attention to the scenic qualities of the space: perspectives, framing, points of view, atmosphere.

His true entry into architecture took place in Hyères, in the south of France. In 1923, Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles, art patrons deeply engaged in the avant-garde movements of the day, decided to entrust to the young, untested architect the design of a large seaside villa. They envisioned it as a premier cultural center, dedicated to parties and artistic events. Theo van Doesburg, Francis Jourdain, Pierre Chareau, Gabriel Guévrékian, Djo Bourgeois, Jacques Lipchitz and others collaborated with Mallet-Stevens on this “total work of art,” which was completed in 1928. (The villa, after years of neglect, was restored in 2003 and transformed once again into an arts center.) Other exceptional houses would follow, such as a villa for Paul Poiret in Mézy-sur-Seine, the Villa Cavrois in Croix, the house-studio Barillet in Paris and several private homes in Boulogne-Billancourt and Ville-d’Avray. He also designed the casino of Saint Jean de Luz, an apartment building and a firehouse in Paris and a distillery in Istanbul.

A regular contributor to the magazines l’Architecture Vivante and l’Achitecture d’Aujourd’hui, professor at the École Spéciale d’Architecture and director of the École d’Architecture of Lille, Mallet-Stevens was also very involved in the organization and conception of important artistic events, such as the Salon d’Automne and the Expositions des Arts Décoratifs. He helped found the UAM (Union des Artistes Modernes) in 1929.
His many friendships in intellectual and artistic circles enabled him to bring together talented artists and artisans for his projects. It was out of these fruitful relationships that the unique private initiative of the rue Mallet-Stevens was born. A group of five families, among them Mallet-Stevens’s own, formed an association in 1925 to purchase a 42,000 square foot lot, street included, in the Auteuil neighborhood. Carried out in particularly favorable conditions for Mallet-Stevens, who was in charge of site planning and the design of each building, the construction of this little piece of the city presented a unique opportunity for him to realize his urban and architectural theories. In a move unprecedented in the history of