In an Art Nouveau townhouse in Paris, behind a facade that remembers another era, there is a flat that until recently had nothing of Parisian elegance about it. The last renovation, carried out in the 1960s, cleaned the interior to bare walls, leaving only the windows as witnesses to its former identity. This tabula rasa, however, turned out not to be a limitation but an opportunity. The architects at Labopop took it as an opportunity to create a space that does not reproduce the past, but engages in a contemporary dialogue with it.
They were inspired by Charlotte Perriand’s idea of living in harmony with one’s own era. It is this idea that permeates the 110-square-metre flat, where materials, light and proportions build a new narrative of place. The design is based on four materials: French walnut from Périgord, decorative concrete, terrazzo and travertine. Each has its own gravity, but put together, they work harmoniously together.
Already the entrance to the flat acts as a zone of transition – immersive, foreshadowing the character of the entire project. Further on, the space opens up to the monumental layout of the library and kitchen, designed as one autonomous architectural element. In the living room and dining room, the walls and ceilings are covered with decorative plaster in a shade that matches the façade stone, so that natural light is softened and diffused. The sofa, inscribed in the room’s outline, emphasises the line of the old windows – the only part of the interior that has survived the previous decades.
In the kitchen, ‘Jadore’ quartzite appears, a material of almost crystalline transparency and deep emerald tones. It is it that illuminates this part of the suite, introducing a mineral intensity that contrasts with the warmth of the walnut.
The night area is separated by a long corridor lined with a terrazzo carpet, the end of which is decorated with a large cactus. A rounded wardrobe follows the form of the entrance and sofa, tying the design together with soft geometry. The bedroom, open to the dressing room and the bathroom finished in travertine, creates a vast, multi-level composition in which the light coming in from two sides creates a sense of fluidity and spaciousness.
In the children’s room, the continuation of the walnut furniture ensures consistency with the rest of the suite, while the second bathroom introduces a cooler, more graphic tone.
The whole is complemented by authentic furniture from the 1960s and 1970s, which decorates and reminds us of the design of yesteryear. A table by Willy Rizzo from 1970, chairs by Eugen Schmidt from the 1960s and chandeliers by Hans-Agne Jakobsson and Klaus Hempel create a layer of history, subtly rooting the design in the modernist tradition. In total, the flat in the Paris townhouse is 110 sq m.
design: LABOPOP / Laboratoire des Projets Optimistes(https://www.labopop.com)
photos: Juan Jerez
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