In collaboration with RH – the leading luxury home furnishings purveyor – Foster + Partners has transformed a 1970s Parisian building into a hospitality-driven gallery space with a winter garden restaurant, rooftop bar, and adjacent design studio. The new gallery is located on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, the historic thoroughfare that stretches between Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe.
Giles Robinson, Senior Partner, Foster + Partners, said: “Our interventions update and enhance the existing building, in a way that is sensitive yet impactful. The design redefines the retail and hospitality experience to create a truly unique destination in the heart of Paris.”
Sarah Wai, Partner, Foster + Partners, added: “The carefully curated hospitality spaces are designed to offer the highest level of luxury and comfort for guests – whether you are dining in the light-filled winter garden or taking in panoramic views of the city from the rooftop bar.”
The gallery’s discreet entranceway is set back from the road and accessed via a landscaped pathway that wraps around the building. A winter garden restaurant is located on the lower rooftop level and has a fully gazed canopy, which brings an abundance of natural light into the space. The spectacular champagne bar on the upper rooftop level offers panoramic views across the city and to the Eiffel Tower. Positioned at the rear of the building, RH’s new interior design studio takes the form of a striking glass pavilion and integrates seamlessly with the landscaping.
Foster + Partners also developed the lift strategy, which ties together the different spaces and ensures efficient movement across the building’s five storeys. Due to the prestigious location and strict zoning constraints, a conventional lift with a permanent rooftop level enclosure was not an option, as it would have been visible from the Champs-Élysées and blocked the sightline to the Eiffel Tower. Instead, the practice collaborated with manufacturers to explore different solutions, ultimately leading to the development of a retractable lift that rises only when needed and disappears seamlessly when not in use. Its flush roof hatch conceals the lift shaft when the cab is lowered, thus maintaining a seamless surface. When the cab ascends, the hatch opens and a glass parapet automatically deploys around the opening to provide enclosure and ensure safety.
