Paris Apartment

WORDS Laurence Dougier PHOTOS Nicolas Mathéus


In this curvaceous Parisian flat, GCG Architects have emphasised a vertical flow, using the triple volume to make the most of the exceptional height of the space.

It’s an apartment of strong ideas – and one totally appropriate to its sought-after location: Paris’s 10th arrondissement has long had strong links with the performing arts in a tradition that dates back to the 18th century.

With this in mind, architects Dev Gupta, Olivia Charpentier and Alexandre Goulet of GCG have combined colour and specific finishing details to create a space that revolves around the apartment’s beautiful reception room. “We have worked this space with a theatre-opera inspiration that’s reflected in the interplay of mezzanines and balconies,” they say. “The flow revolves around the central space, which offers fleeting views and perspectives of the other rooms.”

Indeed, bathed in sunlight, the living room is the centrepiece of this beautiful design. It benefits from a triple volume animated by vertical and horizontal flows, varied diagonal views to the other spaces of the triplex, structural elements softened by plaster curves, and built-in joinery in organic shapes.

GCG Architects
The neutral palette of the living space is anchored by Blanc de Meudon wall paint from Argile, and complemented by Boho sofas from Maison de Vacances, teak Chandigarh armchairs by Pierre Jeanneret, and a rug by textile designer Marguerite Le Maire. The artwork is by Virginie Hucher, and the timber Room Divider screen is by X+L for Phantom Hands.

An entrance sequence leads you straight into a colourful world of majestic volume. A large glazed panel in red lacquered joinery hides a dressing room, guest bathroom and a study, and is separated from the living room by a central staircase dressed in an unusual rattan screen designed by François Passolunghi. The vast living area is separated from the kitchen and dining room by large plaster niches. To extend it, GCG’s architects have designed a “winter garden” room largely clad in green, Mediterranean-inspired zellige tiles. The room is dedicated to contemplation – it’s a place to retreat, read or daydream.

Overlooking the living space is a cantilevered walkway that contrasts the minimalist feel of the room. Underlined by theatrical arches and a balustrade, it leads to a U-shaped staircase heading to the second level, and a master bedroom that is split in two courtesy of a graphic paint effect that plays off the roof slant and a counter-slope. The staircase ends on the third level, where a children’s playroom has been created in the loft space.

The apartment is all about the generosity of its triple-volume space, and the interplay of curves and organic shapes that seem to guide you towards the ascent to the private rooms. And even up there, arches punctuate the comings and goings of family members above the living room, with bedrooms and bathrooms perched high up against the slope of the roof. To borrow a theatrical metaphor, this is paradise.


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