Kenzo House: Parisian urban haven comes on the market
Kenzo House in Paris comes on the market, offering a slice of Zen within the heart of the French capital
Kenzo House is one of Paris' better kept secrets. The home of legendary fashion designer Kenzo Takada, it sits in the French capital’s 11th arrondissement, and while it was initially created by Takada himself in 1988, it was redesigned thoroughly by Japanese architecture master Kengo Kuma in 2017, which brought the property to its current iteration: an architectural slice of Zen within Paris' bustling metropolis. Now, following Takada's passing in 2020, it has come on the market via the property specialists at Christie's.
Stepping inside Kenzo House in Paris
'Kenzo House is without rival in Paris,' said Marie-Hélène Lundgreen of Belles Demeures de France, which is the international subsidiary of Daniel Féau Conseil Immobilier, Christie’s International Real Estate’s exclusive affiliate in Paris. 'Built 35 years ago by Kenzo Takada and masterfully updated for the 21st century by architect Kengo Kuma, it is a world apart.'
Kenzo's work mixed Eastern and Western influences, as well as a passion for colour, light and nature. Kuma kept this spirit when reworking the house, blending in the Parisian setting traditional Japanese building materials, such as ceramic, stone, bamboo, and wood. 'With it, we can experience nature more deeply and more intimately,' Kuma said. 'Transparency is a characteristic of Japanese architecture; I try to use light and natural materials to get a new kind of transparency.'
Spanning four bedrooms, six bathrooms, and a Japanese suite opening onto a lush, serene garden, Kenzo House is expansive, but its carefully curated, human-scale design ensures it remains cosy, textured and warm. It also includes two reception rooms, two dining rooms, two kitchens, a music room, study, fitness room, elevator, and a wine cellar, as well as three self-contained studio apartments for staff.
Kenzo House is offered for sale, price upon request.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture Editor at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018) and Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020).
-
International African American Museum celebrates life and memory on 'hallowed ground'
The International African American Museum opens in Charleston, USA, acknowledging 'hallowed ground' and celebrating life and memory
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Discover solid gold piercing jewellery from Astrid & Miyu
Astrid & Miyu introduces solid gold piercing jewellery to its core collection
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
CAZA’s Santuario de La Salle aims to ‘connect people to place and heritage’
CAZA’s Santuario de La Salle church pushes the boundaries of traditional religious design at the De La Salle University campus in the Philippines’ Biñan City
By Nana Ama Owusu-Ansah • Published
-
Stream Building offers urban vision for Paris and beyond
Stream Building by PCA-Stream exemplifies its creator's vision for the future of cities – in Paris, and beyond
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Magasin Électrique opens in Arles as the home of material pioneer Atelier Luma
The Magasin Électrique at Luma Arles has been expertly redesigned as the home for Atelier Luma, a pioneering material and design laboratory
By Malaika Byng • Published
-
‘Sun Breakers’ book sees Jürgen Beck’s photography celebrate Eileen Gray’s E-1027 house
‘Sun Breakers’, a new book celebrating the work of Eileen Gray, looks at the architect’s E-1027 house through the captivating, intimate photography of Jürgen Beck
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Ultimate Norman Foster: into the mind of the architect at Centre Pompidou
Norman Foster exhibition opens at Centre Pompidou in Paris, celebrating the renowned British architect's ground breaking and extensive body of work, while looking into the future
By Shawn Adams • Published
-
WeWork 37 Avenue Trudaine is nestled under a mesmerising glass roof
WeWork 37 Avenue Trudaine in Paris offers contemporary workspace in a historic setting, under an undulating, highly engineered glass roof
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Lina Ghotmeh’s Maroquinerie de Louviers for Hermès is a celebration of craft
Hermès’ Maroquinerie de Louviers leather production facility by Lina Ghotmeh opens in Normandy, France
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Q-Park Ravet is a parking garage and viewing platform that celebrates urban heritage
Q-Park Ravet by Hérault Arnod Architectures with artist Krijn de Koning brings creativity and monumentality to a utilitarian parking garage structure in the French city of Chambéry
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
‘Brutalist Paris’ is a book that lays bare the legacy of the city’s concrete architecture
Architectural cartographer Blue Crow Media launches ‘Brutalist Paris’, its first book, a photographic study of the French capital’s surviving brutalist treasures and concrete impasses
By Jonathan Bell • Published