Description

Commissioned to the designers of the first French goods store built in Mexico (Palacio de Hierro), Parisian architect Georges Debrie and engineer Georges Pierron, villa Ubayette was completed in 1903.

Built for Henri Proal, a former trader in Mexico City, the villa is a sharp contrast to other contemporary buildings due to its sobriety bordering on austerity. Its originality lies in the exaltation of a single material: stone. Waiving any other decorative element, Ubayette is the only villa using stone in all its forms, raw, smooth, carved or rustic, both for the shell, the molding and ornamentation. Since 1978, the villa houses the sub-prefecture of Barcelonnette.

At Allée des Dames no. 9 and no. 11, villa La Roseraie (1882) et Mon Plaisir (1897), attic pavilions by Marseilles architect Eugène Marx, were sponsored by Jules and Joseph Tron brothers, the founders of the Palacio de Hierro (Iron Palace).

Video

ICONOGRAPHY
Architectural exterior / settings / details: photo campaign of the General Inventory regional department © Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur - Marc Heller and Gerard Roucaute.
Archives: Palacio de Hierro store in Mexico City / old and recent pictures / © Photo Library Vallée Museum.