Clément Lesnoff-Rocard has renovated this large family apartment in an Art Nouveau building Paris’ 5th arrondissement. Entirely redesigned, the apartment is a skilful illustration of Lesnoff-Rocard’s architectural ideas and vision, symbolized by the poetic fusion of technique and the art of ornamentation.

In response to the carte blanche brief, the architect undertook the complete metamorphosis of this beautiful classical apartment into a contemporary living space with a powerful identity. Each room tells a particular story, such as the vast living room floating above its white-varnished parquet floor, or the hybrid ‘Cesar’ salon with its large marble bathtub, doubling as reception room, bathroom and office, an idea that casts back to the Roman baths.

Ambitious structural openings have given greater fluidity and luminosity. A dialogue of contrasting materials and geometries sets the tone, highlighted by a white background. Stone revealed on the facade, architectural concrete in the circular opening, steel beams, marbles, mirrors and curtains, a cast iron cooker presiding over the stainless-steel kitchen, all create combinations of warm and cold, refined and raw, smooth and rough, giving the project its power. The architect has risen to meet the challenge of exploring the materiality of the site, revealing its structure with significant or disconcerting interventions, while infusing it with elegance and functionality.