La Maison au Bord de L'Eau, an unrealized beach house in Miami designed by architect, designer, planner and photographer Charlotte Perriand, has been built by Louis Vuitton for a Design Miami 2013 satellite exhibition. Designed in 1934, the house was first conceived for a design contest held by L’architecture d’aujourd’hui magazine with the aim of creating a simple, economical form of holiday lodging for the mass market. After winning second prize it was never built but, eight decades later, "Perriand’s studies prove quite contemporary in light of the advancements in wooden architecture."
According to Louis Vuitton, "Charlotte Perriand later reworked the idea into several variations for wealthier vacationers. The fact that the project was never executed explains the lack of detailed drawings and the great variety of versions found in sketches." A degree of adaptation was required to build the house due to a lack of detailed drawings.
With links to the avant-garde in France, Germany, Russia, Japan and Brazil, Perriand's work spans seven decades of the last century and has been described as one of the most influential figures in the modern movement of the 20th century. She was the first woman to work as an architect, designer and planner, opening up countless opportunities to the many women who followed her. "As a pioneer of interior architecture alongside Le Corbusier, and trailblazer for the modern movement in furniture, she created many design masterpieces now regarded as icons."
