Invited by LVMH to design a space with a total surface area of 3,000m2, the architectural firm Ciguë unfurls its vision of the new Samaritaine, one of Paris's most emblematic department store.
On its three floors on the Rue de Rivoli side, Ciguë pursues a fragmentation of Parisian archetypes, starting with a cast of a Morris column embedded in the entrance, followed by three antique sculptures set on a rotunda evoking the Louvre. This is followed by lounge chairs reminiscent of the Tuileries garden or the Palais-Royal, a sloping Haussmanian facade in imitation ashlar extending the deconstruction of the site, and fragments of staff-finished apartments imagined as fitting rooms.
The sectioned walls reveal recycled woodwork, rivets, hooks and steel handles, all designed by Ciguë. The space is designed to be totally modular, allowing the brands' open-plan areas to be reconfigured at will: the racks, shelves and tables are mobile, giving the impression of an interior floating in a fluid Paris, in contrast to the materiality, geometry and colors of the blocks lining the space.
This is how Ciguë interprets the spirit of the Samaritaine, a contemporary mirage, the flagship of a Paris that endlessly recycles itself.
