Spread over 3,300 m2 on five floors, the new Paris flagship will be an ever more efficient tool for the presentation of works of art and prestigious collections. It will also be an open and welcoming auction house, offering its customers an enriched experience. Sotheby’s will also offer master classes, events, relaxation areas and elegant restaurants.
Transparency and openness: a new theatricality
The new Sotheby’s headquarters, with its play of transparency overlooking Avenue Matignon and Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, is open to the outside world. On the first floor, the sales room and showrooms are connected to the public space via the windows overlooking the street.
They invite connoisseurs to enter the building and share in the auction experience – a clear break with the usual image of “sales behind closed doors”. It should be remembered that access to the auction rooms is free and open to all. These spaces benefit from natural lighting provided by the faceted glass roof of the atrium, which extends over three levels.
The sales room is at the heart of the project: This 200-seat sales room (240 m2) features a “Parisian chic” ambiance of the 1925s, accentuated by the choice of materials sourced from short supply chains, such as Burgundy stone, eucalyptus wood and solid brass. The atrium’s suspended galleries, which open directly onto the sales room in the style of “loges”, allow direct views from the various levels, including the café, making it unique, exceptional and immersive.
A restoration that respects the Art Deco ambience and is environmentally ambitious
Sotheby’s pioneering character and dynamism resonate with the more subdued avant-gardism of the former Bernheim-Jeune gallery. The respectful restoration of the existing buildings, the conservation of old Art Deco elements and a commission to create new monumental chandeliers of rare elegance and subtle play of light, give these spaces a dimension that is both patrimonial and innovative. A close collaboration was established between various trades – from stone masons to ironworkers, lighting designers and landscapers – under the aegis of the architectural firm Architecturestudio, accustomed to this type of demanding renovation, and the Degaine company, which took part in the restoration of the Hôtel de la Marine in Paris. The restoration of this exceptional site was carried out in consultation with the Architectes des Bâtiments de France and the Comité du vieux Paris.
- Customer:SAS 83FSH, YAFIT Property Manager (project management consultancy)
- Team:Architecturestudio (mandataire), Khephren Ingénierie, RFR, Choulet
Ingénierie, Eco-Cités, Concepto, Scenarchie, Studio FA, Batiss - Year:2024
- Surface:3 400 m²
- Status:On going
Similar programs
Baotou City Urban Exhibition Hall, Museum, Culture and Art Museum, Baotou, Chine
New headquarters of the Bank of Central African States, Yaoundé, Cameroun
Technopôle de la Mer, Toulon, France
Centre d’affaires La City, Besançon, France
Shanghai Jinqiao Office Park II, Shanghai, Chine
Notre-Dame de l’Arche d’Alliance Church, Paris, France
Rehabilitation of the Lemaresquier site – Cité administrative de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
Jame’Unnas Complex, Dammam, Arabie Saoudite
