House envy: Studio KO’s latest monograph is a page turner

Dynamic duo Karl Fournier and Olivier Marty are the brains behind Studio KO – the sought-after architecture practice with offices in Paris, London and Marrakesh. Founded in 2000, the studio swiftly rose to architectural prominence designing considered, tactile compositions in concrete, glass, and local and natural materials, while building a striking clientele list, counting Francis Ford Coppola, André Balazs, Marella Agnelli, Balmain and AESOP in its books.
The title opens with one of the pair’s most recent and most public works, the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakech. Looking at the building through the lens of Dan Glasser and his meticulous photographic documentation, the reader can zoom in and out of details and surfaces, taking in the textures and the building quality. ‘As soon as I met them several years ago, I was immediately impressed by their uncompromising discourse and the integrity with which they spoke of their profession’, wrote the late Pierre Bergé for the book.
From there, readers are led on an extraordinary journey through Studio KO’s ever-growing collection of beautiful private houses. Exploring materials and playing with light and regional architectural vernacular, the architects create spaces perfect for respite and contemplation – referencing the language of modernism and drawing inspiration from the landscape. Prompting some serious house envy, there’s a concrete villa in the countryside of Bordeaux, a Moroccan retreat near the desert, and a timber clad modern cottage in the south of France.
Featuring Glasser’s captivating photography, a preface by Bergé (who commissioned the Yves Saint Laurent Museum) and words by Tom Delavan and Julien Guieu, Studio KO is a tome to read, keep and cherish.
The Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakech, Morocco.
Villa K in Tagadert, Morocco.
Villa E in Ourika, Morocco.
Villa E in Ourika, Morocco.
Villa K in Tagadert, Morocco.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the Studio KO website
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Home is where Beethoven Market is – a joyful Italian restaurant in LA’s Mar Vista
In Mar Vista, a historic space is reborn as a modern-day gathering spot, an Italian-infused restaurant where rotisserie chicken, handmade pasta and tableside tiramisu welcome you like family
-
This Canadian house is a precise domestic composition perched on the Nova Scotian coast
Bishop McDowell completed a new Canadian house overlooking the Atlantic, using minimal details and traditional forms to create a refined family home
-
‘With a small gesture of buying a postcard, we all become copyists’: the Louvre’s celebration of copying speaks to human nature
Contemporary artists are invited to copy works from the Louvre in a celebration of the copyist’s art, a collaboration with Centre Pompidou-Metz
-
Eileen Gray: A guide to the pioneering modernist’s life and work
Gray forever shaped the course of design and architecture. Here's everything to know about her inspiring career
-
The Grand Palais is a Parisian architectural feast, emerging from a mammoth restoration project
The Grand Palais reopens, unfurling its spectacular architectural splendour, meticulously restored by Chatillon Architectes – take a tour
-
Surrealist townhouse Villa Junot lights up Montmartre – and it’s for rent
We go inside Montmartre’s Villa Junot, a former composer’s home reimagined by interior design studio Claves, where surrealism meets art deco splendour
-
Modernist Travel Guide: a handy companion to explore modernism across the globe
‘Modernist Travel Guide’, a handy new pocket-sized book for travel lovers and modernist architecture fans, comes courtesy of Wallpaper* contributor Adam Štěch and his passion for modernism
-
Wild sauna, anyone? The ultimate guide to exploring deep heat in the UK outdoors
‘Wild Sauna’, a new book exploring the finest outdoor establishments for the ultimate deep-heat experience in the UK, has hit the shelves; we find out more about the growing trend
-
Stay in a Parisian apartment which artfully balances minimalism and warmth
Tour this pied-a-terre in the 7th arrondissement, designed by Valeriane Lazard
-
Marta Pan and André Wogenscky's legacy is alive through their modernist home in France
Fondation Marta Pan – André Wogenscky: how a creative couple’s sculptural masterpiece in France keeps its authors’ legacy alive
-
Ten contemporary homes that are pushing the boundaries of architecture
A new book detailing 59 visually intriguing and technologically impressive contemporary houses shines a light on how architecture is evolving