Between 1925 and 1960, Barry Dierks built his career designing over 100 modernist villas on the French Riviera for nobles, celebrities and wealthy investors. He is a relatively unknown figure, but his legacy is enormous.
After building Le Trident, his first house on the south coast of France, which he designed for himself and his partner Eric Sawyer in 1925, Dierks began to establish himself as one of the region’s most influential architects, helping to redefine its architectural identity. This was at a time when the French Riviera was becoming a global reference point for seaside tourism, a 20th-century phenomenon that we now take for granted.
His designs were sober yet imposing and perfectly matched the taste of the time, offering a modernity of concrete, clean volumes and lines that was far removed from the excessive decorations of Art Deco, at least on the outside. Nevertheless, they were still capable of conveying prestige and monumentality.
However, about a hundred kilometres from the French Riviera, there is also a villa in Italy, specifically in Varazze in the region of Liguria. Designed in 1929 and now offered on the market by Lionard Luxury Real Estate, the villa retains the distinctive features of Dierks' design approach.
The property is surrounded by a 3,400-square-metre private botanical park and includes natural swimming pools fed by seawater. Even the remains of the Torre della Mola, which was used as a fort and lookout post during World War II, blend discreetly into the villa's landscape.
The layout reflects Dierks’ desire to establish a continuous dialogue between architecture and nature. Large French windows, loggias and terraces open up the interior spaces to the outside, creating this connection. The main structure is spread over three levels and culminates in the “Captain’s Room”, a panoramic tower and privileged observation point. The focal point of the project is the Loggia della Meridiana: a semi-open space overlooking the sea, defined by 8-metre-high white arches. Dierks uses these arches as visual devices to frame the landscape.
In his villas, Dierks adopts a deliberately modernist style with white walls, clean lines and functional floor plans that pay constant attention to the relationship between the building and its surroundings. At the same time, he does not abandon the monumentality required by his clients' high social standing. His best-known works include the Château de l'Horizon, which he designed for actress Maxine Elliott and where Rita Hayworth and Aly Khan were married in 1949. Other notable projects are the residences of English writer Somerset Maugham in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and Grace Moore, an actress and singer nicknamed “the Tennessee Nightingale”.