Montparnasse
Tucked within the storied fabric of Montparnasse, three artist studios had remained remarkably untouched since the 1960s. Passed quietly between generations of the same family, the spaces retained an atmosphere that felt increasingly uncommon in contemporary Paris. Time had left its imprint everywhere, in the patina of surfaces, the accumulation of objects and the traces of lives devoted to making.
It was this sense of continuity that drew designers Hugo Vince and Adèle Nourry of Atelier HA to the project. Commissioned to unite the studios into a single 140-square-metre residence, they approached the transformation with an understanding that the most valuable qualities of the space could not be measured in square metres alone. The apartment belonged to the client's family history as much as it did the building itself.
The commission also carried an unexpected personal connection. "It was during our studies at the French Camondo school that we were introduced to this project, unknowingly meeting our future client," recalls Vince.
Rather than impose a new identity upon the interiors, Atelier HA sought to uncover what was already there. Family heirlooms, artworks and pieces inherited from the client's grandfather were carefully woven into the renewed spaces, allowing memory and contemporary life to coexist with quiet ease. The resulting home feels less like a renovation than a continuation, preserving the character of a place shaped over decades while gently preparing it for the years ahead.