Elite Traveler Winter 2024/25

“The glass facade with the soft graduation from white to transparent was very simple but interesting, with inspiration from the bubbles in a glass of champagne. From outside, sometimes it is like the building is fl oating and [has] a soft feel; sometimes it is vanishing away into the background because of the re fl ection and melting into the sky. “The shape is also very important. The [existing] maison is really symmetrical and beautiful, and I like

to bring some kind of positive imperfection in a sense, to create an asymmetrical composition. For the curve of the roof, I got the inspiration from a huge bubble fl oating above and then cut it out of the building. One side is taller, and the other side is a bit lower. It's calm and quiet and beautiful curvature.” Faced with the exquisite bones of a building, Nicolas, who is based in Tokyo, was at fi rst not sure if his services were required. “The attitude of creators in Japan is, we ask ourselves: ‘Is this necessary or not?’ before we design something. When I saw the building, everything was glass, everything was transparent; I didn’t want to do anything,” he explains. “Then fi nally when I looked at the project, the message of Ruinart is about nature and how you respect [it]. We tried to have this approach inside, to have a continuity with the outside. You don’t feel like you are entering a French salon or a French champagne house. There happens to be a bar, but you don’t see the function of the bar; the glasses disappear, they are all invisible. My job was to make things disappear and to highlight the emotional feel of nature.”

This can be seen in elements such as tall white stems emerging from the ground, made from innovative linen fi bers, designed as an extension of the garden’s vegetation to reveal and conceal di ff erent spaces. Looking to tomorrow was also central for Nicolas. “We created this beautiful carousel, like a sculpture, with upside-down bottles [of champagne], and it comes from the ground to the ceiling. This is a metaphor for how champagne comes from the past and will continue in the future. That’s what we are playing with: tradition and future.” The carousel also has a concealing function, to mask the entrance of Ruinart’s new private underground cellar, reserved only for select clients. “Everyone who comes, we want to surprise. I remember the fi rst visit we did [after the project was complete], everyone arrived expecting to see a chateau. Usually we enter from the past; from history and tradition. Here, we enter from the future, and this is a really positive image of where the brand is going and where the world is going,” says the designer.

ruinart.com

Photos Chloé Le Reste, Grégoire Machavoine, Alice Jacquemin