Jakob+MacFarlane designed a new shop for Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle

Jakob+MacFarlane opens a new Parisian boutique for Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle. Located in 17 rue des Francs-Bourgeois in the Marais, the new setting for the French creator has been envisioned as a rectangular box, slipped within the ground floor of a pre-Haussmann building; a box with a large window looking onto the street.

“I’d very much loved Dominique Jakob and Brendan MacFarlane's work on the restaurant Georges at the Centre Pompidou. A futurist fantasy, it remains to this day as perfect and unexpected as it was fifteen years ago. But it wasn’t until I revisited the Florence Loewy bookshop in the Marais, displaying artists’ books and for which Jakob+MacFarlane designed an intriguing “hive” of plywood bookshelves.” sums up Frédéric Malle.

Its interior is a carefully sculpted wooden framework from which a series of mysterious islands and stalactites emerge, shelves and refrigerated cabinets alternate, as well as tables and columns for smelling.

The floor, walls and ceiling are covered in mirror-polished stainless steel, creating an effect of endless complexity, infinitely reflecting the bookcases, like visionary wooden landscapes, accommodating the bottles. This succession of virtual spaces reflects the physical realm belonging to the viewer.

A bottle then becomes a multitude of points to expose and to explore in the City of Light. The result of discussions between the architects and the perfumer at the beginning of the project, “We talked about books and perfumes, but also about the labyrinth in the Jardin d’Acclimatation, about illusion and infinity. Choosing a fragrance, a scent to call one's own for years to come, means shielding oneself from the world's restrictions, finding a space between what's real and imagined. It requires comfort, silence and time“.

The columns, there for smelling, immersing yourself and choosing your scent, are hidden in the walls. Like in a publishing house, and true to F. Malle tradition, portraits of perfumers hang as a reminder of the artists at the heart of the perfume house. The artificial light is a vital component of the project, designed in close collaboration with lighting design teams at L’Observatoire International. “We have created a series of recesses in the walls and ceiling to provide light. Firstly subdued lighting in the shelving via opalescent panels, then direct ceiling lighting with spotlights. Lastly, each bottle of perfume is highlighted through a backlighting system integrated with the shelving,” explain the two architects.

Founded by a French and New Zealand architect: Dominique Jakob and Brendan MacFarlane, today Jakob+MacFarlane is an agency boasting transversal skills, comprising architects and designers from around the world. The design of each unique project results from fundamental needs. The aim of this philosophy is to create an architecture that is relevant, with specific meaning responding to functional and conceptual expectations, but also aiming to create a better world in doing so.

Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle by Jakob+MacFarlane

13 rue des Francs-Bourgeois

75004 Paris

France

Source: Jakob+MacFarlane

Photographs by Roland Halbe©

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