Fleur de Lys Mansion
Los Angeles, California, United States
A monumental residence in the Bel-Air district
How old would you give this house? It looks like an 18th century mansion. However, its construction dates from 2001, so this residence is only 20 years old. Natural stone plays a major role in giving a timeless appearance to the building.
Located in Holmby Hills, a prestigious enclave of Los Angeles, Fleur de Lys was designed by architect Richard Robertson III. Robertson Partners is an architectural firm recognized worldwide for their achievements in the Beaux-Arts style, the creation of some of the most prestigious private residences and their urban development projects in the United States.
The 45,000-square-foot mansion is built of Savonnieres stone, extraite d’une des carrières de Polycor. Cette pierre calcaire française est d’un aspect gris beige, à grain fin rond, serré avec nombreuses vacuoles. Elle est considérée comme un excellent matériau pour l’architecture classique.
"The French limestone referred to as Savonnieres was used for the exterior cladding as well as of the detailing, including the bas-relief artwork panels, the oversized urns, the columns and entablatures.
(…)
Bel-Air has two genres of styles - an American version of French Classicism (Beaux-Arts and a formal style) and an American version of a blending of Tudor and Country French (a casual style). When this is filtered through American function and the physical surroundings, it evokes what Bel-Air is.
(…)
Fleur de Lys is a permanent building that has responded to the heritage and the weather, the terrain and the way of life particular to the neighborhood and client. It will become part of the heritage of Bel-Air because it is expressed in an architectural vocabulary understood by most ordinary people, and thought by most through time to be a style admired and loved. "
The Future of Classicism: New Beaux Arts The Architecture of Richardson Robertson III (Reference book)
Gallery
Photo credits
Robertson partners
