Atelier Philippe Coudray
‘Ateliers Philippe Coudray’ introduces collections by Paris’ hippest Interior Designers and Decorators: Nicolas Aubagnac, Michel Jouannet, Serge Olivares and Maurice Renoma.

Daum
Daum, the most artistic of luxury brands, edits and manufacturers in very limited editions, creations from established and new talents, using ‘pâte-de-cristal’ as a magical medium.

dn designs collection
dn designs creates furniture and accessories for the home, with the goal of surprising and satisfying even those who have seen it all.

Zinc Dezign
ZINC DEZIGN collection by James Heeley brings a modern touch to a traditional ornamental craft by applying sleek designs to create a line for the interiors.

This autumn public institutions in Paris (Le Grand Palais, La Cité de l’Architecture) and neighbouring Boulogne-Billancourt (City Hall and The 1930s Museum), as well as private initiatives (Hermès boutique, Karl Lagerfeld), are making Paris a place to go, see and celebrate architecture and design.

Texts by Charlotte Louise Ho

Le Grand Palais - Design by Design

Questioning why the word ‘design’ has become synonymous with ‘well-drawn’ and ‘trendy’ the exhibition puts objects and household furniture from the Industrial Revolution to now into perspective. Many surprises arise as parallels are drawn between: design, art, fashion, architecture, film, comic books, humor and novels.

Cité de l’Architecture - Global Award for Sustainable Architecture

Cité de l'architecture & du patrimoine in association with l'EPAMSA (Établissement public d'aménagement du Mantois Seine-aval) have just launched the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture.

Each September an international jury will select an architect whose work raises the bar in terms of sustainable development.  The jury is held at Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye (1928/29) in Poissy, 45-minutes north of Paris.

Austrian architect Hermann Kaufmann (aged 52) was nominated on 25 September 2007. Kaufmann specialises in wood constructions, perhaps partially due to his home region, Vorarlberg, which is known for its durable construction. He prefers wood to concrete and assures his clients that the durable habitat is accessible to all budgets.  Back home, Kaufmann built a housing project out of wooden-prefab elements and incorporated solar power to heat up to 60% of the project’s hot water.

The winner will be commissioned to design a building for a new permanent collection of Sustainable Architecture. The Regional Government of Seine-Aval is planning to develop the winner’s building in a great place of honour : adjacent to Villa Savoye, the first Le Corbusier building to fully realise his five-point program.

Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld has teamed up with celebrity architect Zaha Hadid, Laureate of the 2004 Pritzker Prize,  to create ‘Mobile Art’: an organically shaped traveling museum, set to travel the world from 2008 to 2010.  This 7,500 sq foot space will host the reinterpretations by 15 artists of a Chanel icon, the ‘Chanel 2.55’.

Hermès

On October 23, Hermès reopened its Paris flagship store (24, de la rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré). It took a full year to expand the 1880s store by over 3,000 sq feet.  Celebrated in fanfare, the reopening ceremony hosted special guests from the fashion and art world, including such big-names as Jean Paul GAULTIER, Jean Paul GOUDE, Angelin PRELJOCAJ, Valérie MREJEN… and architect Didier FAUSTINO

Boulogne-Billancourt, City Hall - Jean Prouvé (1901-1984)

The retrospective of Jean Prouvé’s work high-lights the « poetical aspect of a technical object. »   Jean Prouvé, an engineer and innovator, was fascinated by modern industry and innovative materials, particularly steel and its many applications.  The exhibition is organized by the Vitra Design Museum and is hosted in Boulogne’s City Hall, an art deco building by Tony Garnier.

Boulogne-Billancourt, Musée des Années 30

 « Leleu, 50 years of Furniture and Decoration », this retrospective covers a period from the Art Deco period to the 70s, and showcases over 120 pieces of furniture, carpets, fabrics, lighting, drawings and decorative studies. Among other grand projects Leleu worked on the world-famous ships: le France, le Normandie… The exhibition is curated by Jean-Louis Gaillemin, founder of Beaux Arts magazine.