A magazine dedicated to compact interiors

Eliott’s all-in-one studio + gallery + flat 75 m² Cosy minimalism Industrial Loft Charlotte le Gouvello

This Home Tour is from Sloft Edition 04

"When I left the 5th Arrondissement for Aubervilliers [a suburb just outside of Paris], the idea was, of course, to gain a few square meters, but also to find a real working space. The situation of the city – half under construction and half in ruins – was very interesting for me in relation to what I was trying to develop in my work. I needed a place that would fit, in the best way possible, my needs to live, create and show. A rather ascetic, quiet place where I could focus and rest. Today, even though the Métro is just down the road, I hardly have any reason to leave my house at all!"

Studying at the Beaux-Arts in Paris didn’t make Eliott Paquet give up completely on his dreams of becoming an interior designer. His place in Aubervilliers, which brings together a 92 m2 art studio, a 75 m² flat, and a 25 m2 exhibition space, actually serves as a bit of a manifesto. Designed to be as functional as possible, the project, which he conceived alongside architect Charlotte Le Gouvello, makes the most of an unglamorous space that suffers from a lack of direct light. The partitioning, as well as the choice of materials – notably wood, with which the artist is used to working – were carefully thought out to reflect as much light as possible.

“By converting parts of a former factory, we even managed to find enough space for an exhibition area, Placement Produit, the programming of which as an echo of my own concerns about domestic space. We used a system of embedded units that separates the space’s different functions and hide its functions as much as possible, to curb visual clutter. This may sound pretentious or like a professional quirk, but I wanted to imitate the white cube model. Not to make my living space into an exhibition space, but because I believe that elegant forms engender reflection and creation. This place played a very important role in my early career as a young artist, and I met many people there.”