Renovation of the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé Atelier

Paris, France

Open plan and Void

Cultural - Rénovation

2023

Find out more

Status

Completed

Client

Private

Address

Rue Campagne Première, Paris, France

Date

2023

Area

1 500 m²

Program (Details)

Renovation of the former workshop of couturier Yves Saint Laurent;
Exhibition spaces on two levels

Credits

Photos: Filip Dujardin

Architect

Mikoü

Structure

VP Green

Fluids

Bet Louis Choulet

HQE

–

Economy

Sletec

This workshop, rooted in the artistic effervescence of 1930s Paris, holds within it the vibrant soul of Montparnasse, once the heart of the literary and artistic world. Campagne-Première Street, the Vavin crossroads, and Montparnasse were the stage for an artistic revolution initiated by visionary minds.

A Workshop, a cultural heritage, a Renaissance
Nestled within a stone building adorned with the floral scrolls of Art Nouveau, this workshop absorbs the rich memory of artists like Apollinaire, Modigliani, Man Ray, Cendrars, Cocteau, and Yves Klein. To revive its spirit, we drew from its Art Deco essence, revealing and enhancing its character to infuse this aesthetic into the space’s lines and moldings. This place, where Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent once worked, was already envisioned as a space free from burdens, where walls and gravity blurred to embrace air and light. In renovating it, we freed the volume and designed an open plan, seeking fluidity and balance to achieve a refined and vibrant architecture.

The Poetry of Assembly, Art Deco Elements of Language

Thus, the space has expanded, the structures have been lightened, and the materials, vibrant and alive, have regained their brilliance: red and black bricks, translucent glass floors, wooden beams, and metal frameworks. To this original palette, we have added noble and bio-sourced materials: oak beneath the framework, lime concrete bricks, and glass pavers that capture light like fragments of stars. The design, centered around the void, has opened up to new breaths: in the entrance, a double-height space embraces the glass roof with a single glance; along the side walls, other double heights seem to suspend the slabs, amplifying the sense of space.

Under the glass roof stands the staircase, redesigned as an ethereal sculpture. Metal and black wood weave together in homage to Pierre Chareau’s Maison de Verre, offering a delicate balance between lightness and presence. It serves as the central axis of the project, connecting the two levels. The workshop extends around the central courtyard into a spacious open-plan area, punctuated by double-height volumes beneath the mixed wood-steel framework.

Open plan and Void

Designed to house the collection and creations of a prestigious French leather goods brand, this unique space exudes a singular atmosphere. Every detail – the patina of the beams, the molding of the walls, the woodwork and railings, the play of transparencies and reflections – forms a symphony where each architectural element plays its own note, its own vibration. The golden wooden framework, punctuated by skylights, allows light to cascade down the walls, where Le Corbusier glass pavers diffuse their brilliance onto the rose quartz floor. The materials converse with the light and textures, breathing new life into Art Deco as a vibrant experience, an immersive journey into this poetic space.