After 16 years of extensive renovations led by the award-winning studio SANAA, The historic La Samaritaine department store reopens in Paris. The restored version features a wavy all-glass façade that reflects the ambiance of the store?s context.
Courtesy of Jared Chulski
The original store on the banks of the River Seine was established by Ernest and Marie-Louise Cognacq-Jay in 1870. It featured a set of art nouveau and art deco buildings that were designed by the architects Frantz Jourdain and Henri Sauvage. The original store was closed in 2005 for safety concerns.
SANAA was commissioned by the owners represented in the French luxury goods company LVMH to renovate La Samaritaine. The transformation included the restoration of the original art nouveau and art deco buildings? details and the redesign and renovation of these buildings, to fit the architectural standards and trends of today. Courtesy of Jared Chulski
La Samaritaine, after renovation, is a mixed-use complex that includes 20,000 square meters of retail space distributed over three stories, 15,000 square meters of office space, a nursery, and 96 units for social housing. That is truly an urban hub!
“I am both delighted and proud to see La Samaritaine, a true institution to which Parisians have always been deeply attached, restored to its magnificent beauty and iconic stature,” said LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault.
Courtesy of Jared Chulski
“The long history of La Samaritaine has been shaped by ...