Germain is a Parisian restaurant like no other. It finds its home in the quaint Rue de Buci, surrounded by all the plushness of Boulevard St Germain. But whilst the location might be quintessentially Parisian, the restaurant’s interiors are anything but. We discovered a design story like no other, and we wanted to share it with you.
Prolific, Iranian-born and Paris-based architect, India Mahdavi, designed the interior architecture of the three-storey building in May 2009. The primary aim was to create a different style and feeling within each of the restaurant’s floors. Key design elements including geometrics, bright prints and clashing textiles are used throughout, but the associated moods of the opposing spaces are very different. On the ground floor the elements combine to lend the main restaurant area a 70's vibe. Vector prints, check-board patterning and retro colour schemes provide just the right volume of loudness. In contrast, the top floor has a way cosier feel with cushioned fabrics, clashing prints and a more atmospheric use of space.
Germain's top floor
Speaking of her design Mahdavi said: “For Germain, I appropriated codes in Parisian bistro dining before diverting these ideas and sending them somewhere else. I wanted this place to be fed with a history and tradition but to break free and deconstruct the space with economies of scale, proportions and patterns”. Mahdavi's design mixes multiple elements that demand your attention, she then uses these to suspend portions of the restaurant within your frame of vision. This is mainly thanks to her clever use of geometrics; the luminous graphic ceiling and the vast faceted marble bar being the two most obvious examples.
Bar area
So far so normal. But what is it about this space that got us so excited? Well, the next chapter of this design narrative offers a rather huge plot twist. Say hello to Sophie…
Meet Sophie; Xavier Veilhan's resin sculpture
Who’s Sophie? She’s a massive, yellow, female sculpture wearing an overcoat and high heels. She’s 5 meters wide, made entirely of yellow lacquered resin and she explodes through the ceilings and floors. She’s brilliant, because she makes fun of coercion from every possible angle, and she’s also the perfect complement to Mahdavi’s interiors.
Sophie is the conception of Paris-based artist Xavier Veilhan who was originally approached by Germain’s owner, Terry Costes, with the idea that he’d intervene Mahdavi’s design with a work he’d already produced. When Veilhan visited the space he was inspired to take his design in a different direction, saying: “A vertical gap seemed more dramatic and more fitting, it’s as if the sculpture had existed before the space.”
As a result, Sophie stands commanding the entire restaurant, her lower half stands tall on the first floor whilst her upper body and head break through the ceiling and poke fun at the intimacy of the lounge area. As design twists go it's one of the most fun we've seen.
The incredible narration of space at Germain, as well as the introduction to our new, favourite heroine totally captivated us. We enjoyed it - like all the best stories - from cover to cover.
