Paris Interior Design and Architecture Chauffeur — Galerie Patrick Seguin, Design Galleries, Architects and the UHNW Collector Circuit

Galerie Patrick Seguin — the Prouvé and Perriand specialists

Galerie Patrick Seguin (5 Rue des Taillandiers 75011 — in the 11th arrondissement, in the Bastille-Faubourg Saint-Antoine district, accessible via the Bastille or Ledru-Rollin métro stations) :

**The gallery:** Galerie Patrick Seguin is the most important commercial gallery in the world for the work of Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, and Le Corbusier — the three architects and designers who created the canon of French mid-century modernism. The gallery was founded by Patrick Seguin in 1989 and moved to the current location in the 11th arrondissement (a former forge-work district, appropriately, given Prouvé's background as a metalworker trained in Nancy) in 2003.

**Jean Prouvé:** Jean Prouvé (1901-1984) was a metalworker trained in Nancy who became the most original structural designer of the 20th century — his SCAL demountable houses (designed 1944-1947, commissioned by the French government to rehouse the bombed-out population of Lorraine, produced in prefabricated steel and aluminium panels that could be assembled in 48 hours without special tools), his Standard chair (1934, the first chair designed around the idea of unequal forces: the rear legs heavier because they bear more weight), and his Compass desk (1953) have become the most sought-after objects in the 20th-century design market. Complete Prouvé demountable houses (reassembled in their original configurations) are offered at the Seguin gallery from €1.5 million to €4 million — recent buyers have included the foundations of major luxury conglomerates and UHNW collectors from Japan, the United States, and the Gulf states.

**Charlotte Perriand:** Charlotte Perriand (1903-1999) is the most influential interior designer of the 20th century whose work remains systematically undervalued relative to her male contemporaries — her collaboration with Le Corbusier (1927-1937, during which she designed the LC4 chaise longue and the LC7 revolving chair, attributed to Le Corbusier-Jeanneret-Perriand), her post-war Japan period (1940-1942, invited by the Japanese Ministry of Commerce and Industry to redesign Japanese living spaces), and her late career collaboration with the ski resort of Les Arcs (1967-1992, where she designed the integrated architecture and furniture of 1,200 apartments) represent three distinct contributions to 20th-century design culture.

**Le Corbusier:** The gallery holds the most important private collection of Le Corbusier-designed furniture and objects in commercial circulation — including painted-canvas wall hangings, the LC2 and LC3 sofas in their original formulations (with the heavy steel framework that preceded the current tubular versions), and architectural models from the Unité d'Habitation.

Galerie Kreo and the contemporary design edition circuit

Galerie Kreo (31 Rue Dauphine 75006 — on the left bank, in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district, between the Pont Neuf and the Rue de Buci market) :

**The gallery:** Galerie Kreo was founded in 1999 by Clémence and Didier Krzentowski as the first Paris gallery to focus exclusively on designer editions — limited-run, signed objects produced by leading contemporary designers in editions typically of 6 to 12 pieces. The Krzentowski model (which has since been adopted by Design Miami, by the Gagosian gallery's design department, and by a generation of design galleries in New York and London) treats functional design objects with the same critical framework as fine art: limited editions, exhibition catalogue raisonnés, secondary market auction records.

**The designers:** the Galerie Kreo portfolio includes Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec (the most prolific design duo of their generation — best known for their Algues modular room divider for Vitra, the Workbay for Hay, and the Clouds felt installation for Kvadrat; the Bouroullec brothers' editions at Kreo sell on the secondary market for €20,000-€120,000 per piece), Marc Newson (the Australian-born designer who is the most commercially successful designer of the last 30 years — his Lockheed Lounge chair sold at Phillips de Pury in 2006 for £968,000, then the highest price ever paid at auction for a work by a living designer), Jasper Morrison, Hella Jongerius, and Martin Szekely.

**The design auction circuit:** Paris has become the second most important city after New York for the auction of 20th-century design and furniture (Christie's, Sotheby's, and Artcurial — 7 Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées 75008 — all hold major design sales in Paris, typically in November coinciding with FIAC/Paris+ par Art Basel and in June). FFGR provides the pre-sale viewing transport and the purchase collection logistics for UHNW collector clients.

Pierre Yovanovitch and the Paris interior decorator circuit

Pierre Yovanovitch Architecture d'Intérieur (40 Avenue George V 75008 — in the 8th arrondissement, between the Champs-Élysées and the Seine, accessible via the George V métro station) :

**The designer:** Pierre Yovanovitch is the most internationally celebrated Paris interior designer of his generation — his practice, founded in 2001 after leaving the fashion world (he was a designer at Pierre Cardin for 10 years), occupies a floor of the prestigious 40 Avenue George V building (the address of the Four Seasons George V hotel) and has completed residential projects in Paris, Geneva, Gstaad, London, New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo for UHNW clients from the luxury industry, finance, and tech sectors. The Yovanovitch signature (large-format custom rugs, architectural furniture in solid wood, the integration of contemporary art with historic architecture) has defined the aesthetic of the highest tier of the Paris residential design market since the mid-2010s.

**India Mahdavi:** India Mahdavi Architecture & Design (3 Rue Las Cases 75007 — in the 7th arrondissement, in the Saint-Thomas d'Aquin district) is the most internationally visible practice of the Paris female decorator generation — known for the candy-coloured maximalism of Sketch in London (the pink upholstered Gallery Room, 2014, which became the most-photographed interior in Europe in the mid-2010s), the Bishop restaurant in Paris, and residential projects for UHNW clients in Monaco, London, and Dubai.

**Joseph Dirand:** Joseph Dirand Architecture (14 Rue Royale 75008 — in the 8th arrondissement, on the Rue Royale between the Madeleine and the Place de la Concorde) is the most architecturally rigorous of the Paris decorator generation — known for the interiors of the Hôtel Montalembert (Paris), the Hôtel de Vigny (Paris), and residential projects of extreme restraint in the Madeleine district and the Île Saint-Louis.

The Cité de l'Architecture and the architectural documentation circuit

Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine (1 Place du Trocadéro 75016 — in the 16th arrondissement, in the east wing of the Palais de Chaillot, facing the Eiffel Tower across the Seine) :

**The institution:** The Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine (opened in 2007 in the renovated east wing of the 1937 Palais de Chaillot) is the largest architectural museum in the world — housing the Musée des Monuments Français (casts of the principal architectural monuments of France from the Roman period to the 20th century), the Galerie Moderne et Contemporaine (covering French architecture from 1850 to the present, including full-scale reconstructions of the interiors of Le Corbusier's Cité Radieuse apartment and Mallet-Stevens's Art Deco villa), and the INHA (Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art) research library.

**Jean Nouvel:** Jean Nouvel (born 1945, Fumel) is the most internationally celebrated living French architect — winner of the Pritzker Prize in 2008. His principal Paris buildings include the Institut du Monde Arabe (1 Rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard 75005 — the south facade with 1,600 motorised iris apertures, 1987), the Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain (261 Boulevard Raspail 75014 — the transparent glass facade, 1994), the Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac Museum (37 Quai Branly 75007 — the "garden wall" of 15,000 plants, 2006), and the Tour Total (La Défense — under construction). His Paris office (Ateliers Jean Nouvel — 10 Cité d'Angoulême 75011) receives visiting clients by appointment.

**The Faubourg Saint-Antoine furniture tradition:** The Faubourg Saint-Antoine (the 11th and 12th arrondissements — the street running east from the Bastille to the Porte de Vincennes) is the historic centre of Parisian furniture-making — the guild of menuisiers-ébénistes (cabinetmakers) was established here in the 16th century and the tradition survived until the 1990s in the form of specialist ateliers. Several historic ateliers survive as restoration workshops: the Atelier Fourdinois (specialising in Louis XIV-style marquetry), and the conservation workshops of the Mobilier National (1 Bis, Rue Berbier du Mets 75013 — the national furniture collection responsible for the furnishing of the Élysée, the National Assembly, and the French embassies worldwide) which can be visited by appointment.

PAD Paris and the design fair circuit

PAD Paris (Tuileries garden — held annually in October, timed to coincide with FIAC/Paris+ par Art Basel at the Grand Palais) :

**PAD Paris:** PAD (Pavilion des Arts et du Design) was founded in London in 1999 and expanded to Paris in 2003 — the Paris edition (held in a temporary structure in the Tuileries garden) is the more prestigious of the two, attracting the principal international galleries dealing in 20th-century design, tribal art, and jewellery. The 2023 Paris edition attracted 60 galleries from 14 countries and approximately 25,000 visitors over 5 days. Price points range from €5,000 (vintage design objects by emerging 20th-century designers) to €4 million (complete Jean Prouvé demountable houses).

**The Salon du Mobilier:** The Salon du Mobilier (held at the Carreau du Temple, 4 Rue Eugène Spuller 75003, in the 3rd arrondissement — the former covered market converted to a cultural space in 2013) is the design fair of the contemporary Parisian interior design community — presenting the work of the generation of Paris-based designers working in the 5,000-50,000 € per piece range (Thomas Merlin, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, Eric Schmitt).

**The Galerie de la Présidence:** For antique furniture and decorative arts in the highest tier (Louis XIV boullework, Sèvres porcelain, royal commission pieces), the Galerie de la Présidence (24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré 75008) and the Galerie Steinitz (26 Avenue Matignon 75008) are the principal commercial galleries.

Booking the Paris design and architecture circuit

FFGR structures the Paris design and architecture circuit for several types of client engagement :

**The gallery circuit (full day):** FFGR vehicle from hotel (09h00) → Galerie Patrick Seguin (Rue des Taillandiers, 09h30-11h00 — private viewing by appointment with gallery director) → lunch in the Marais or the 11ème → Galerie Kreo (Rue Dauphine, 14h00-15h30) → Pierre Yovanovitch studio visit (40 Avenue George V, 16h00-17h30 — by introduction) → hotel return.

**The architecture studio tour:** for clients commissioning new architecture or interior design projects, FFGR can arrange the vehicle logistics for a circuit of the principal Paris studios — Ateliers Jean Nouvel (11ème), Dominique Perrault Architecture (13ème), Wilmotte & Associés (13 Rue du Renard 75004), and the smaller boutique practices in the Marais and the Rive Gauche.

**The PAD transport:** During the October design fair season, FFGR provides the vehicle management for collectors attending PAD Paris (Tuileries garden), FIAC/Paris+ (Grand Palais Éphémère), and the concurrent gallery openings in the Marais, the 7th, and the 8th arrondissements. The fair season involves 3-5 different venues per day and requires flexible vehicle positioning.

Contact us at reservation@ffgrparis.com or WhatsApp +33 7 43 46 14 91.