Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/1529602
decorative painting, traditional masonry, and façade restoration. "The intersection of the worlds of fashion and decoration is palpable and induces a desire for creative exploration that broadens horizons," says d'Amman. "The delicate creations of Maison Lemarié and its Lognon workshop have always fascinated me. I was dazzled by the beauty of the cardboard looms I discovered during my visit to their 19M workshops." Referring to the Soleil d'or pleated light fixture, she explains, "It's a story that starts at the ateliers, continues at my desk studying proportions and designs, [then] collaborates equally with master makers of some of the finest Entreprises du Patrimoine Vivant (EPV), a French label for craftsmen of decorative works." This represents an evolution from fashion- based inspiration to light fixture, observes d'Amman. "To transfer this savoir-faire to architecture is the beginning of another level of conversation," she says, explaining that a similar light fixture is now going into the lady's boudoir Between the white plaster resin–pleated panels surrounding the desk, for instance, are other panels displaying writing that she describes as "obsessive texts" by beloved writers such as Marguerite Duras, Lidia Yuknavitch, and Virginia Woolf. The desk and these "graffiti" murals are in the reading room of le Petit Salon. But in the entry to the space, we find raw concrete structures made in collaboration with Laboratorio Morseletto in Vicenza. Thanks to slits in them that accommodate books, they become sculptural "bookshelves" she calls béton littéraire (literary concrete). "There is always this dialogue between the precious and the raw," she explains. "It gives each its own integral value. It contributes to each's poetic materiality, and it is what makes it modern." This juxtaposition of materials and textures, d'Amman believes, is completely synchronous with Chanel's sense of style. "She presented an infinite possibility of combinations. There's no frame, no cage. You can take the codes and reinvent them endlessly." " There is always this dialogue between precious and raw. It contributes to each 's poetic materiality, and it is what makes it modern." of a private client's house; also, the pleating showcased in some of the wall panels at le Petit Salon will become cladding for the pool. The architect grew up in war-torn Lebanon in the 1980s. But amid the bombs, fear, and destruction, d'Amman says she had two refuges: fashion and literature. "We were lucky because we were able to escape," she says, recalling that her mother would wear beautiful outfits—some by Chanel—and walk around in them for a couple hours before the government- installed curfews. "It was an act of rebellion and resistance," declares d'Amman. "She would wear it for two hours of grace before reality would return. The act of beauty is inspiring. It is an act of grace and elevation. Whether you are in a country torn by war or not, the sense of healing fashion can instill in you allows you to embrace another reality." As for literature, she remembers that, when things got scary, "I would hide under a table and open a book, and suddenly there was silence." This inspiration from the written word translates to le Petit Salon in several ways. Rencontre des Cultures: 10 pages of embroidered words brought together in one book by Aline Asmar d'Amman in collaboration with Maison Lesage. C O U R T E S Y O F S T É P H A N E R U C H AU D A N D C H LO E L E R E S T E BALHAR B O U RSH O P S .CO M