Architects Léa Cottreel and Rosalie Robert founded RREEL in 2023 as a Paris-based architectural practice specializing in the intervention of existing structures. As Léa and Rosalie both hold the DSA Architecture and Heritage from Énsa-PB in Paris, the firm is focused on the restoration of protected buildings and the conversions of rural or industrial heritage buildings. With an expertise in buildings constructed in the 19th and 20th centuries, RREEL was the right firm to call upon for the restoration of apartment designed by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret in 1931 and 1934. The Molitor building, located in the Boulogne-Billancourt region just outside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, was designed with 10 apartments on the lower floors, and two apartments on the top floors which functioned as Le Corbusier’s own residence and studio (the apartment is still managed by Fondation Le Corbusier today). The lower floor apartments were originally sold by the real estate company Paris-Parc des Princes with interior layouts which were freely chosen by the buyers, thanks to the innovative free plan developed by Le Corbusier.
When the clients, a couple from Slovakia with a passion for architecture, bought the apartment as a Parisian pied-à-terre, there were looking to restore the design and qualities of Le Corbusier’s work after the original layout had been completely removed in a 1970’s renovation. As with all projects, RREEL initiated the restoration by way of thorough historical research into the Le Corbusier archives held at the Fondation Le Corbusier. “The foundation was involved right from the start of the project,” Rosalie explains. “We showed them the flat at every stage of the project. We shared the discoveries of original materials with them as we removed the 1970s coverings. They provided us with advice and knowledge of Le Corbusier’s work and we visited the Le Corbusier studio flat several times to observe the materials and furniture details.” As with other projects, the resulting design challenges contemporary standards and gives meaning to the preservation of architecture. Of the Molitor apartment, the architects explain, “The new interior is conceived as a dialogue of several distinct objects, whose shapes, colors, and materials give a historical and poetic echo to the existing building.”
Photography by Mary Gaudin for RREEL.
Above: The white countertop is Corian and the cabinet doors, designed by RREEL and made by Atelier FR/FR, are lacquered white. The kitchen faucet is the Tres Grifería Matte White Single Handle Kitchen Tap. The two light fixtures on the kitchen island are designed by RREEL and developed by Atelier FR/FR and Adrien Goubet.
The 625-square-foot apartment is divided into three rooms: the bedroom, the common room, and the office, in addition to the kitchen and bathroom. (See the hypothesis for Le Corbusier’s original layout compared to the 1970s update and RREEL’s version at the end of this post.)
Above: “The pinks are reds we used on the tiles are the complementary colors suggested by Le Corbusier’s Claviers de Couleurs,” the architects explain. The kitchen island is made of tiles from French manufacturer Winckelmans. The wall-mounted fixture is the Applique Cylindrique Wall Sconce in White Wash designed by Charlotte Perriand for Nemo.
Above: A view from the entry hall looking into the largest space in the flat and balcony just beyond.
Above: The seating area just across from the kitchen is set with the client’s furnishings including a Hay Slit Table in polished steel and Noguchi Akari 24N Table Lamp.
Above: A Le Corbusier Basculant Sling Chair in white leather.
Colors are directly inspired by Le Corbusier’s two palettes created for the Salubra wallpapers he used in his buildings: one from 1931 with soft, pastel colors, and another from 1959 with bold color. “We found traces of the original wallpaper used int he flat, which was a blue-grey. We decided to use this color on the large curved wall that runs through the flat.”
Above: The marble slab integrated on the top of the RAL 5024 Pastel Blue Radiator is Rosso Levanto marble.
Above: The original glass of the building with walls newly painted in Farrow & Ball Strong White No 2001.
Above: The architects designed a curved shower enclosure, similar to the one seen in Le Corbusier’s own apartment at the top of the Molitor building, that functions to separate the bathroom and bedroom. It’s finished in medium pink tile in the style of Le Corbusier’s palette.
Above: The deep wash basin is from the Villeroy & Boch Loop & Friends collection.
Above: The laundry basket was created by RREEL with Atelier FR/FR based on a discovery uncovered in the Fondation Le Corbusier archives: “Le Corbusier had placed what he called caisses à linge in every bathroom. Unfortunately, the original had disappeared. We came up with this very simple design to evoke this missing element.”
Above: The pivoting mirror is designed by RREEL and developed by Atelier FR/FR and Adrien Goubet.
Above: The bed, closet, and pocket door to the bedroom are all designed in Marine Okoume plywood finished with a tinted oil. Light fixtures throughout are Artemide Dioscuri wall and table lamps.
Above: “This detail is from Le Corbusier, integrated into the pan de verre ondulatoire in the entrance hall of the apartment. It’s a small pivot-mounted ventilation flap that Le Corbusier called aerateur pivotant in the archival documents. In this flat, it has been hidden behind a cupboard for 50 years, and we discovered it during the project.” The lamp is the FLOS Parentesi Suspension Floor Lamp.
Above: A writing desk at the window is accompanied by a vintage Thonet 209 Bentwood Armchair.
Above: Original tile and perforated metal railing on the Molitor balcony. The flooring in the apartment is a rubber floor from Artigo.
Above: A view of the Molitor building in contrast to a more typical Parisian building next door.
Layouts
Above: The architects’ hypothesis for Le Corbusier’s original layout after historic research in collaboration with Fondation Le Corbusier.
Above: The apartment layout following the 1970s remodel; the condition before RREEL began work.
Above: The final layout result achieves an open plan and larger single bedroom while integrating design elements inspired by Le Corbusier’s work.
For more Le Corbusier and Le Corbusier-inspired design, see our posts:
