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A place planned by Auguste Perret

For the construction of her residence/studio, Chana Orloff turned to Auguste Perret, whom she knew for having painted his portrait in 1923.

Living room on the 2nd floor
Bed room

An exemplary artist residency

The architect complies with his client's requests: an economical workplace, requiring space and light, coupled with the living space of the artist and her child. The works lasted six months, between April and September 1926.

The house/studio is functional and presents interior spaces remarkable for their fluidity and their absence of decoration: the concrete framework (posts, beams) is surprising with its lightness and finesse. It's also the first artist residence with a concrete frame expressed on the facade.

Built on a narrow plot the house/studio spreads over three levels communicating via a straight staircase, placed on the adjoining interior wall of No. 7.

Facade of the building
Facade of the building, old photo

A clear construction system

On the ground floor and first floor: the studios. On the second floor the apartment devoted to domestic life, with a perfectly optimized arrangement: a gallery serving as a living-dining room, an independent kitchen, a bathroom and two bedrooms opening onto a terrace and on the glass window that illuminates the atelier dedicated to work. This is where Chana Orloff and her son, Elie, live.

The structure of the building is clearly stated on the facade, with an exposed reinforced concrete portico into which is inserted a checkerboard brick panel framed by two doors and topped by a large glass wall. Above, resting on the beam, a wall of bricks laid in a staggered pattern with sober and discreet decorative qualities. The whole ends with a roof terrace crowned with a projecting cornice. Perret pays particular attention to the finishing of the concrete and the laying of the bricks.

The facade of the house thus stands out from the bare facades of neighboring houses built by André Lurçat, the architect behind the creation of the Villa Seurat.

La collection

Les Ateliers-musée exposent 200 sculptures originales de Chana Orloff, parmi les lesquelles des sculptures, des gravures et des dessins.

Biobliothèque de portraits aux Ateliers-musée