54 Montaigne Facade Intervention / FRESH Architectures

The monumental ancient-style portico of 54 avenue Montaigne already made it a unique silhouette on the avenue: the challenge was to give the whole building a heritage dimension, through bold choices. FRESH architectures have chosen to dare to shake up the architecture of the Avenue Montaigne by preserving a subtle balance between classicism and innovation in order to give the flagship of a large house such as Dolce & Gabbana the visibility it should have.

The treatment of the facade is reminiscent of the shapes and materials associated with haute couture. Arranged with the precision of an artisanal knit, the 85,000 porcelain picots that compose it form a weft, and create a discreetly scintillating architectural fabric. On the scale of the district and even of the city, the building becomes a precious fabric, a unique collector’s item resulting from a real work of craftsmanship.

The picots, designed by FRESH architectures, then molded and manufactured one by one, in the Bernardaud workshops in Limoges, give a new thickness to the entire surface of the facades.

A dialogue then begins between materials and eras: contemporary sobriety and classical ornament, matt minerality and regal porcelain, the arrangement of fibers, and the plain surface of the stone. The cladding becomes clothing to elegantly dress the facade: reflecting the colors of the sky and the trees of the avenue, it makes the surface of the building shimmer, giving it life and movement through shades that change according to the hours and the seasons. Beyond the architectural intervention, FRESH architectures wanted to put the unique French know-how of the Bernardaud house at the heart of the project. Porcelain, this royal material, formerly called « white gold » is offered to passers-by who are invited to discovery. This medium embodies the values defended by the agency for this project: durability and elegance.

The project as a whole has been designed as staging, the interior of which offers visitors-spectators the experience provided by a large luxury house, as they let themselves be carried away by the scenography of the place and the interiors designed by Rousseau&Dapelo.

Thus, past the black lacquered entrance and its monumental chandelier, the hall opens onto a vast space on two levels, where the codes borrowed in turn from those of Italian-style theaters and sacred architecture, give the place an aura that is both majestic and solemn: there is no doubt one is entering a new « temple of fashion ».