Located in the heart of the Grand Palais in Paris, the Salon d’Honneur is a beautiful space designed by architect Albert Louvet. He welcomed the early 1900s exhibitions and unexpected theatre plays. At the request of the oganizers of Paris Photo, and specially Julien’s Frydman, Teresa Sapey designed and built the entire VIP Lounge. It is inspired by the temporary installation”Velvet & Silk Coffee”, performed by Mies Van Der Rohe on the occasion of the fashiom show “Die Mode der Dame”, held in 1927 in Berlin. The result is a new project spred ver an area of 1200 m2, surmounted by an eigth meters high canopy.
‘It was a great surprise that Paris Photo has told me for the occasion. It’s an honour and, at the same time, a great responsibility. Being at the Grand Palais is to be, at the same time, in the great gateway to France. I couldn’t think of a way to imagine Paris Photo VIP Lounge as I didn’t know previously the Salon d’honneur. This Salon is reopened to the public again after seventy years of reforms. It’s a beautiful piece of the French history, unknown even by the French themselves. When I went in, I could even breathe its volumes, the architecture, its elegance, its essence and its power. As an architect, my first concern was facing this majestic space. It is a space designed for VIP guests of Paris Photo, a space where people can sit, eat, drink, talk, do some business, relax or meet.
The project itself is a journey through sight, touch and emotion. At the same time, as it’s ephemeral and only lasts for days, we have played with bold, vivid colors and each one has a different fabrics. Fabrics invite people to dance in space and to travel in it. Fashion is much freer than architecture. Fashion is valid for three or six months, so it doesn’t matter if we incur in some madness, which is extended to the ephemeral architecture projects that are out of the restrictive laws. The ephemeral gives you the freedom to express yourself as you want and have fun doing it. I hope guests have fun too.’
