Norman Foster's Villa La Voile Lists for €29.5 Million

Villa La Voile, the waterfront home Norman Foster redesigned for himself on the French Riviera between 1998 and 2002, is now for sale at €29.5 million. The 480-square-meter residence stands on a hillside in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, between Nice and Monaco. Real estate agency Savills holds the listing.

The house was originally built in the 1950s. Foster, working as its owner, extended and reconfigured the building over four years to exploit its steep coastal site. The renovation changed the layout and orientation of the house, turning an ordinary mid-century villa into one of the Côte d'Azur's most distinctive waterfront properties.

What does the house actually look like?

La Voile — French for 'the sail' — takes its name from a retractable canopy that resembles a sail, a nod to the Mediterranean setting. Steel arches and glass facades define the architectural language, while floor-to-ceiling windows frame views of the coastline throughout.

The villa arranges its living spaces across seven levels that follow the slope. Key features include:

• a four-level atrium that draws natural light deep into the interior
• a two-story library offering a more intimate space within the open layout
• suspended walkways connecting the different levels
• a rooftop pool overlooking the coastline
• terraces at multiple levels that extend living spaces outdoors
• landscaped grounds following the hillside, giving privacy despite the open waterfront position

Inside, a MudWork fresco by British land artist Richard Long sits on the rear wall of the double-height living room, reinforcing the villa's connection to the natural landscape. The kitchen and dining area combine stainless steel finishes with expansive glazing over the water. The property includes five bedrooms, a separate apartment, and garage facilities.

What does this change for Foster's legacy?

The listing gives buyers — and the public, through new photography — an unusually close look at how Foster approaches residential work. The villa distills his long-standing interests in structure and light: sweeping steel arches, double-height spaces, and an atrium doing the work of organizing circulation and daylight at once.

Foster, founder of Foster and Partners, is better known for large-scale projects, and La Voile remains a rare built record of his residential thinking at a domestic scale. As the property changes hands, its next owner will inherit not just a seven-level hillside house but a documented chapter in the career of one of Britain's most influential architects.