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Blofeld’s SPECTRE villa ‘Dar Bianca’

Always on the forefront of architectural grandeur, the Bond films have introduced us to magnificent real-life buildings such as Piz Gloria in Switzerland, Elrod House in California, Küçüksu Palace in Istanbul or the stunning Villa Arabesque in Acapulco. With the latest Bond film ‘SPECTRE’, yet another interesting villa joins the impressive list of villain residences.

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Blofeld’s villa in “SPECTRE” – Dar Bianca in Marrakesh, Morocco

All Bond villains have always had two vital things in common: wealth and power! No wonder many of them have resided in some of the most magnificent lairs over the years. The latest one has been cleverly incorporated into the desert setting of ‘SPECTRE’ – the villa Dar Bianca in Marrakesh, Morocco. It is seen in the film when Bond and Madeleine arrive at Blofeld’s desert lair which was constructed at Gara Medouar, no less than 500 kilometers away from the actual location of the villa. Superimposed into the surroundings of the scene, the villa serves as a perfect minimalistic architectural statement by the villain.

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The villa as seen in SPECTRE © 2015 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Danjaq, LLC and Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All rights reserved

The 880 sq meter estate, surrounded by two hectares of parkland with a splendid view towards the majestic Atlas mountains, was built in 2006 by architect Ihmaad Rahmouni, a protégé of famed French architect Philippe Starck. Within an oasis of palm and orange trees, the six bedroom Dar Bianca is a harmonious combination of concrete, metal and glass. To give the effect as if it was floating on water, the villa is surrounded by an artificial stream.

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Side view of villa Dar Bianca – Photo: Emile Garcin

The idea behind this fascinating structure was to give its European owners the same experience as living on the seaside: in the open air, in permanent relationship with the water and the wind. In October 2015, around the time of the premiere of ‘SPECTRE’, the villa was actually on sale for € 3.2 million and is still listed on the homepage of the Emile Garcin group that specialises in prestigious real-estate. So, if you have some cash left over…why not move into a true Bond villain lair?

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