Top by Ami Paris, trousers by Acne Studios and shoes by Nike Joseph Dirand’s stark design articulates the sumptuous essentials. His aesthetic is wielded through a serenely—and masterfully—scaled-down approach. Slender and garrulous, the Parisian born-and- raised architect delivers French opulence with great restraint, accentuating both the past and the ultramodern for projects within his country (the Rosenblum Collection in Paris, the Villa Pierquin in Saint Girons), as well as exporting his finesse to places like the Saifi Penthouse in Beirut and the Distrito Capital hotel in Mexico. His professional headquarters in Paris’ 9th arrondissement—where he was interviewed—is a luminous sixth-floor perch on the Right Bank with an unobstructed view over the city’s rooftops. The open-plan workspace for his staff of 25 is trimmed with neatly arranged groupings of every kind of material sample, and his personal office is equipped with a full library of art and architecture books and his favorite Jeanneret chair. This story is from Kinfolk Issue Twenty-One Buy Now Related Stories Design Issue 51 John Pawson From the king of minimalism: “I find the essential and get the design down to a point where you can’t add or subtract from it.” Design Interiors Issue 51 Axel Vervoordt Inside the world of Axel Vervoordt. Design Issue 51 Kim Lenschow The architect who wants to show you how your house works. Design Issue 51 Sean Canty The Harvard professor on architecture as a driver for social change. Design Issue 51 Cult Rooms The Pavilhão de Portugal. Design Issue 49 Marcio Kogan On the pursuit of perfection.
Design Issue 51 John Pawson From the king of minimalism: “I find the essential and get the design down to a point where you can’t add or subtract from it.”
