SPACES
Marcel Breuer en Français
By Kristina Raderschad
Photography by Christian Schaulin
Turning away from the old seaside resort of Deauville, with its grand hotels,
nostalgic promenade and elegant marina, the road to Paris winds through the
rich green hills and huge estates of the Calvados region of Normandy. On
either side, the white fences of stud farms stretch for miles; from here pedi-
greed thoroughbreds find their way to the racetracks of Russia, the Middle East
and the United States.
This is the setting for the only private house Marcel Breuer built in France,
a design, that, happily, nearly four decades have left unblemished, thanks to
the continued occupancy of the couple that commissioned it, Louis Sayer, a
passionate horse breeder, and his wife. The two hyperbolic parabolas of the
concrete shell roof are still breathtaking, and the spectacular interior is still
graced with its original finishes and furnishings.
While living in Paris, Mr. Sayer dreamed of building a vacation home for his
family — his sons were 9 and 14 years old at the time — and raising racehorses
in this region. He bought his first piece of land here in 1971, reserving the highest
point with its view to the English Channel for the house.
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