Principles of the Design

Illustration of living room -- Stephanie Wong

Consistent design ideals and materials were used throughout the entire house. There is no difference in use of materials between 'piano nobile' and servant's quarters. The grey and black house seems to be monochromatic at first glance, but it also contains colours. The orange columns, the tapestry-covered furniture, the warm mahogany wood, and the books on the bookshelf wall all give off signs of life, sparks of joy. Colours burst forth.

From the outside the house may look small, but when one gets to the foot of the main staircase, the real dimensions of the space become apparent. One is only aware of this inside. The glass wall of the great room, forming the outer facade, absorbs and refracts the light. Diffused by the massive glass wall, light invades the entire room, illuminating the space. Its presence is absolute - monumental white light, almost dizzying, with no escape. Sitting on the couch covered with tapestry designed by Jean Lurcat, it prevents a direct gaze. The great room itself is a beating heart. It is like a modern cathedral, where eleven orange and black columns studded bolts impose a rhythm and form the framework of the house. Their different sizes, their colours, with black slabs interrupting the orange columns at set intervals, the striking sizes of the bolts, are amazing. They look different at different angles and when one looks at them against the white screen they become sillouhettes against the light and loose their relief. Wherever one looks in this house something is happening. The more one looks, the more one discovers the volumes, the different materials, details and paradoxes.