The historic La Samaritaine division retailer has reopened in Paris with a brand new undulating glass facade following an intensive renovation led by Pritzker Prize-winning studio SANAA.
Commissioned by the house owners, French luxurious items firm LVMH, the overhaul reworked the shop on the banks of the River Seine following its closure in 2005 over security considerations.
SANAA‘s design concerned the restoration of many unique artwork nouveau and art deco particulars, alongside a transform and refurbishment of the buildings to carry them to modern-day requirements.
“I’m each delighted and proud to see La Samaritaine, a real establishment to which Parisians have all the time been deeply hooked up, restored to its magnificent magnificence and iconic stature,” mentioned LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault.
“The lengthy historical past of La Samaritaine has been formed by daring imaginative and prescient, prosperity and a way of solidarity. With this new chapter, the story will now proceed lengthy into the longer term.”
La Samaritaine was established by Ernest and Marie-Louise Cognacq-Jaÿ in 1870. It contains an ensemble of ornamental buildings designed by architects Frantz Jourdain and Henri Sauvage.
At the moment, it’s a mixed-used complicated that comprises 20,000 sq. metres of retail house over three flooring, alongside a nursery, 96 social housing items and 15,000 sq. meters of workplace house.
Its revamp has been carried out by a workforce headed up by SANAA and together with SRA Architectes, Édouard François and Jean-François Lagneau and FBAA.
It was initially anticipated to reopen in 2013, however building has halted a number of occasions resulting from various court cases and campaigns opposing the new glass facade, which critics mentioned resembled a bathe curtain.
This glass facade now marks an entrance on the Rue de Rivoli and leads into the up to date retail areas, which lengthen throughout the decrease ranges of three of the positioning’s 4 buildings.
The undulations of the facade are meant as a nod to the rhythm of the Haussmann-style home windows of surrounding buildings whereas serving to to melt the constructing it covers.
SANAA has additionally launched glass-domed courtyards between two of the buildings to assist filter gentle in by way of the depths of the complicated.
One of many largest elements of the mission was the restoration of the present artwork nouveau and artwork deco constructing closest to the Seine, which is registered as a historic monument.
This included restoring its cast-iron indicators, ceramic decorations, ornamental pillars and the unique multicoloured enamel tile facades that had been hidden underneath a stone-coloured wash.
Inside the identical constructing, its staircase-filled atrium that’s topped by an oblong glass roof inbuilt 1905 has been restored to its former glory.
The roof construction, which had been coated to cut back gentle ranges within the constructing, has been recreated with electrochromic glass that turns into tinted in daylight.
Varied corporations have contributed to the retail interiors, together with Yabu Pushelberg, Ciguë and Malherbe Paris. François collaborated with inside architect Peter Marino on the interiors of the brand new resort, which occupies the opposite Seine-side constructing.
The social housing and nursery, overseen by FBAA, now occupy a bunch of Seventeenth-century condo blocks that hyperlink as much as the undulating glass facade on the Rue de Rivoli.
SANAA was based by architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa in Tokyo, Japan, in 1995. Elsewhere, it’s presently designing a cloud-like structure for Shenzhen Maritime Museum.
La Samaritaine featured in our roundup of the most interesting architecture projects slated for completion in 2021. Different just lately accomplished initiatives that featured on the checklist included Wormhole Library by MAD, Little Island by Heatherwick Studio and the Bourse de Commerce revamp by Tadao Ando.
Venture credit:
Purchasers: Grands Magasins de La Samaritaine, LVMH Lodge Administration and DFS
Architect: SANAA (Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa)
Operations architect: SRA Architectes
Lodge ornament and design: Peter Marino and OAL, Maison Edouard François
Retail interiors: Yabu Pushelberg, Agence de création Malherbe Paris, Studio Ciguë
Historic monument architect: Jean-François Lagneau and Lagneau Architectes
Social housing and creche: François Brugel Architectes Associés
Govt mission administration: Egis
Common contractor: Vinci Development France
Specialist contractors: Frener & Reifer, SMB-CCS, Viry, Socra, AOF and Atelier Bouvier