Famous since “Les Rivières pourpres”, the Keller pavilion has finally changed owners. A look back at the extraordinary architecture of this industrial residence, now promised a new life.
It took nearly two decades of aborted projects, several owners and a long period of abandonment for the Keller pavilion finally changes hands. On July 28, 2026, this imposing and iconic residence in Livet-et-Gavet, in Isèrehas officially been sold, putting an end to a long real estate soap opera around theone of the most unique buildings of the industrial heritage of the Romanche valley.
However, if the “sold” sign has finally disappeared from the facade, an unknown remains: what will become of this building of some 1,700 m2 spread over four levels, made famous in the cinema by The Purple Rivers by Mathieu Kassovitz ? The new owner has not yet revealed precisely his program, even if he claims to want respect the architecture of the pavilion and evokes a more important project on a valley scale.
After twenty years of wandering, the Keller pavilion has finally found a buyer. The sale has just been officially signed, as announced in a press release by the Lysi Immobilier network, responsible for the transaction. “The transaction was concluded after 18 months of work,” specifies the network. © FTV / Fleur de Boer
An architecture built in two stages
There current silhouette of the Keller Pavilion is the result of two distinct construction campaigns, separated by around fifteen years, which tell in their own way the evolution of the tastes, techniques and ambitions of its owner.
The first part was built between 1910 and 1914, in the immediate vicinity of industrial installations of Charles-Albert Keller. The building then adopts an architecture based on local materials and know-how: stone, schist, wood, ceramic and stained glass contribute to a deliberately picturesque composition, giving this industrial residence an appearance that is both rustic and worked.
The second campaign took place at the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s. It was this which radically transformed the silhouette of the pavilion. Two large rotundas were then added side of the Romanche. And rather than simply placing them on the ground, the architects project them above the void on long cantilevers supported by concrete stilts. One houses the winter garden, while the other houses the office of Charles-Albert Keller. It is precisely this succession of suspended volumes which today earned the building its nickname of “giraffe house”.
Charles-Albert Keller did not see this residence as a simple prestigious residence. It also had to be a place of work and representation, offering the industrialist a privileged point of observation over his environment and his activities. The building also housed accommodation for engineers and their families. © FTV / Fleur de Boer
The two rotundas are not just an aesthetic issue. They make it possible to create large areas above the slope and the road, while widely opening the interior spaces onto the valley. From the pavilion, occupants benefit from panoramic views of the Romanche, the village and the industrial installations. By its architecture, the building literally seems to project above the valley. © Le Grenoblois 38 / Wikipedia
On the five levels of the facade, the ground floor notably retains a masonry of schist rubble left deliberately visible. On the upper levels, the stone is covered with a coating, while regularly arranged and slightly protruding stones create a rustic bossage effect. THE pavilion therefore combines a traditional architectural expression, based on stone and decor, with a much more modern architecture in its structural principles, with the massive use of concrete for the extensions carried out in the 1930s. It is this hybridization which constitutes a large part of its heritage interest today.
Art Nouveau, industrial architecture and employer’s residence
THE Keller Pavilion is sometimes presented as an Art Deco construction or as an Art Nouveau villa but the reality is more nuanced, since the building has been transformed over the years by combining several influences. In fact, the Department of Isère presents it as an “art-nouveau villa” notably equipped with remarkable stained glass windows, while the extensions of the 1930s introduced much more modern forms with their concrete volumes and their projections on stilts.
The interior details reinforce this dimension of a patron’s residence. THE top floor, occupied by Charles-Albert Kellerhas notably preserved woodwork, stained glass windows, tiles and marble elements. The winter garden and reception areas also demonstrate the care taken in the representative parts of the building.
Some stained glass windows were even saved at the last minute from dispersion. After being offered for sale, several items were acquired thanks to the mobilization of the services of the Department, the Musée de la Romanche and the Richesses culturelle de l’Oisans association. They are today restored with a view to being presented at the Musée de la Romanche in Rioupéroux. © Isere.mag
However, Charles-Albert Keller is above all a hydroelectricity industrialist : arriving in the valley at the beginning of the 20th century, he gradually developed a important industrial complex around the Romanche. But he clearly does not view his environment solely from a productive perspective. On the contrary, its installations demonstrate a desire to combine industry, architecture and landscape. The house becomes a home, office, reception area and observation post at the same time. Its spectacular architecture contributes as much to the social representation of the industrialist as to its daily functioning.
In the late 1990s, Mathieu Kassovitz chooses the Keller pavilion to shoot part of his film The Purple Rivers. The building, with its suspended volumes, its mountainous environment and its aspect as disturbing as it is intriguing, then becomes one of the immediately recognizable settings of the film.
1,700m2 to save
The pavilion is approximately 1,700 m2 spread over four floors, but several years of abandonment have left significant traces: certain ceilings must be replaced, parts of the facade have come loose and the joinery – among other things – must be renovated. According to information collected by The Dauphiné Libéréthe cost of the work amounts to several hundred thousand euros.
The problem is that a century after its construction, this exceptional architecture is today in a worrying state. © FTV / Fleur de Boer
The good news, however, concerns stilts which constitute one of the most unique elements of the building : according to real estate agent Laurent Portier, having concluded the sale, their foundations have been surveyed and are in good condition. A sale which, according to real estate agent Laurent Portier, was not an easy affair: “It was a very delicate sale. I started in December 2024. After multiple visits, I found the right person in March 2025. The offer was accepted and behind it, it was a path of the cross strewn with pitfalls“, he tells France Télévisions. “A person had lived there for over 30 years“, he always specifies in this same article, “she had to be rehoused. There was also a conflict related to the relay antenna on the roof terrace. The owner of the antenna did not want to leave, because there was a lease, but the buyer did not want it. There have been many court hearings“.
The building will be preserved, assures Laurent Portier. L’buyer wishes to preserve the entire Keller partnotably the woodwork, moldings and stained glass windows. The site should also become a place of passage open to the public, where visitors can stop, even if the future owner remains discreet about the exact nature of the project. The latter, however, indicated to Dauphiné Libéré that he was attached to the building and wanted to respect its architecture. Several tracks circulate: housing, panoramic restaurant in the volumes projecting above the Romanche, spaces of coworking or seminars, or even tourist activities… Only one thing is certain: the Keller Pavilion cannot be rehabilitated like an ordinary building. Its next life will have to deal with an architecture which, more than a century after its construction, remains surprisingly contemporary.
© Le Grenoblois 38
