.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Charlotte Perriand was introduced to Elisabeth de Vilmorin by the American architect Paul Nelson and designed the kitchen for her Quai des Grands-Augustins apartment in Paris between 1949 and 1950, when it was delivered in August of that year. Some of the cupboards of this kitchen can be seen as predecessors to the 'Brazza' cupboards Perriand designed two years later for the Unité d'Habitation Air France in Brazzaville.
"What is the most important element in domestic equipment? We answer unequivocally: storage. Without well-planned storage, empty space in the home becomes impossible. Walls with built-in storage are the first priority. Then comes equipment for house-keeping, the kitchen, and the bathroom. Our house must always be empty so that we can dream or rest on the floor like Easterners, or in chairs like Westerners, and the children can play."
(Charlotte Perriand, 'L'art d'habiter', Techniques & Architecture, August 1950, nos. 9-10, p. 33)
"What is the most important element in domestic equipment? We answer unequivocally: storage. Without well-planned storage, empty space in the home becomes impossible. Walls with built-in storage are the first priority. Then comes equipment for house-keeping, the kitchen, and the bathroom. Our house must always be empty so that we can dream or rest on the floor like Easterners, or in chairs like Westerners, and the children can play."
(Charlotte Perriand, 'L'art d'habiter', Techniques & Architecture, August 1950, nos. 9-10, p. 33)