LAFAYETTE PAVILION

An emblematic figure of Parisian department stores, Galeries Lafayette has a rooftop. This new 1,700 m2 terrace opened its doors this summer to offer a breathtaking view of the French capital. Willing to offer a quality and comfort place to all of its customers, the brand called Franklin Azzi to design this new must-see space in the French capital.

This project is a continuation of the re-qualification of the store's roof terrace, realised by Franklin Azzi Architecture in 2019.

For this place, open to 360° on the Parisian landscape, the architect has imagined an ultra-light steel structure, removable according to the needs and the seasons. It hosts the Tortuga restaurant, a name chosen by its chef Julien Sebbag in reference to a Caribbean island. A feat of engineering, this pavilion with its unprecedented construction, conceived as an abstraction, fades away to serve as a frame for the urban panorama on one hand, and on the other hand for its interior décor, conceived by Franklin Azzi as an immersive sensory experience.

In collaboration with Guillaume Houzé, the architect has invited the ornamentalist Pierre Marie for a global artistic intervention in direct dialogue with the space. This collaboration is part of the great tradition of the decorative arts and revives the spirit of innovation of the department stores born of the meeting of engineers, architects and artists of their time.

The architectural minimalism of Franklin Azzi's pavilion contrasts with the two monumental hangings by Pierre Marie. The artist-decorator deploys an opulent décor inspired by the underwater flora's abundance. The seaweed and coral of his textile frescoes are patterns, colours and materials that marry the construction's purity in a play between opacity and transparency.

The architect Franklin Azzi and the ornamentalist Pierre Marie have combined the strength of their creativity in a contemporary pavilion, whose minimal steel structure serves as a backdrop for a phantasmagorical setting, for an unexpected dialogue between art and architecture.