Award winning architect Amanda Levete and her London based studio AL_A have just announced they will be redesigning one of Paris's iconic department stores; Galeries Lafayette is one of the French capital's retail landmarks.
The architects have been selected, following a competition among leading international firms, to work on the 40,000 sq m 'Cupola' building of Galerie Lafayette's flagship store on Boulevard Haussman. Founded in Paris in 1893 by Théophile Bader and Alphonse Kahn, the store moved into its current premises in 1912. It glass dome and atrium were famous, becoming a synonym for luxury retail.
The renovation project aims to place architecture at its heart, transforming the existing historical building into a 'new shopping experience'. AL_A was selected for its bold design that blends 'tradition and modernity.' Of course Levete is no stranger to cutting edge retail design, her portfolio including the Selfridges store in Birmingham.
'This store is an institution that has a special place in the life and identity of the city of Paris,' says Levete. 'Our commission is a fantastic opportunity to build on tradition to make a living contribution to the future of Galeries Lafayette and the cultural life of Paris. The exquisite craftsmanship of the original building and its location in the heart of Haussmann's city are both elements we seek to celebrate as we move forward.'
The world famous store on Boulevard Haussmann is the second most visited tourist attraction in Paris, after the Eiffel Tower.
Works are expected to start on site in 2017.
Levete is no stranger to cutting edge retail design; her portfolio includes the futuristic Selfridges store in Birmingham
INFORMATION
For more information on AL_A visit the website (opens in new tab)
-
The Arts Club, London, marries Victorian eccentricity and Italian glamour thanks to revampThe Arts Club, London, gets a modern revamp with a nod to styles of the past
-
Faye Toogood brings new life to Matisse’s legacy
Milan Design Week 2023: tapped by Maison Matisse, the London-based designer has taken inspiration from the French master’s forms to create a collection of heirloom-worthy objects
-
Rebuilt Shigeru Ban houses launch at the architect’s Simose Art Museum in Hiroshima
A series of rebuilt Shigeru Ban houses become available to experience and rent at the Simose Art Museum, designed by the same architect, in Hiroshima, Japan
-
Paris art exhibitions: a guide to exhibitions this weekend
As Emily in Paris fever puts the city of love at the centre of the cultural map, stay-up-to-date with our guide to the best Paris art exhibitions
-
Cyprien Gaillard on chaos, reorder and excavating a Paris in flux
We interviewed French artist Cyprien Gaillard ahead of his major two-part show, ‘Humpty \ Dumpty’ at Palais de Tokyo and Lafayette Anticipations (until 8 January 2023). Through abandoned clocks, love locks and asbestos, he dissects the human obsession with structural restoration
-
Remembering Pierre Soulages (1919-2022), a pioneer of post-war abstraction
Pierre Soulages, the pioneering French printmaker, sculptor and ‘painter of black’, has died aged 102
-
Reclaim the Earth, urge artists at Paris’ Palais de Tokyo
We discover the group exhibition ‘Reclaim the Earth’, a wake-up call for humans to reconsider our relationship with the planet (until 4 September 2022)
-
Jason Boyd Kinsella’s curious portraits dissect the architecture of human
Based on the Myers-Briggs personality test, Jason Boyd Kinsella’s new portrait series, on show at Perrotin in Paris, examines the building blocks of human existence
-
Kader Attia dissects multiculturalism, colonialism and capitalism in Doha show
Kader Attia addresses postcolonial trauma and the need for psychiatric repair in a new show, ‘On Silence', at Doha's Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art
-
At home with Xavier Veilhan
In our ongoing profile series, we find out what artists are making, what’s making them tick, and the moments that made them. Xavier Veilhan tells us about his new show at Perrotin New York, the oddities of NFTs, and the role of public (or not-so-public) sculpture
-
Magnum Photos’ new Paris gallery spotlights past and future
Magnum Photos expands its footprint with a new gallery space in Paris, inaugurated with multigenerational joint show ‘Bruce Davidson & Khalik Allah: New York’
