The Snake by Francois Roche/ New Territories in Paris

Photo by Jérôme Galland.

If you’re ever lacking a bit of that artsy-edge in your design lives, only look towards Paris. For better or worse, you can trust the Parisians to explore and blur the boundary between art and architecture. Although I’m obviously making a vast generalisation, nothing says this more than the Parisian ‘snake’ project by New Territories/ R&Sie Architects. Edgy as hell, this ‘snake in a box project’ is more than just a sneaky innuendo; it’s an abode for the ultimate art-crazed lover of minimalist living.

Located in an old 19th Century, industrial brick building in Paris’s lively 10th Arrondissement, the project was completed in 2003 for an anonymous and supposedly super fancy art collector. To explain the project in brief, New Territories/ R&Sie constructed a white cube of 350sqm and filled it with the minimal necessities for living: a kitchen, bed, and bathroom etc. Clad entirely in white plaster, these spaces were then complimented by a public art space where the client’s art collection lives and is occasionally accompanied by exhibition art works. Between it all, lies a bisecting snake structure, splitting and defining the more private living spaces and public art gallery spaces; providing a central, sculptural element where someone can live. Constructed primarily using a metal-mesh material dressed in a silky white plaster skin, the snake rises, doubling up on itself as the occupant inhabits the space and makes the journey towards an apex where they can appreciate and oversee the art collection from above.

Using the snake to create a narrative between inhabitant and public art enthusiast, this project invents a space that echoes the edgy yet refined intentions of the client, their own artistic collection as well as a capacity to exhibit. Using the white brush of the typical minimalist masters, New Territories/ R&Sie dramatically explore and highlight the unusual, organic and twisting form of the snake, creating ghostly spaces that frame the works as well as the life of the inhabitant. Pushing the edges of interiority, this architecture within architecture celebrates organic boarders and its appeal to a more fluid way of living. Enjoy guys!

Related post: Deliciously Curvalicious.