Librería Arthaud © Robert César

The truth is that France, the cradle of so much architectural culture and an incomparable source of the art of living, has produced few fruits. Granted, there are Christian de Portzamparc, Bernard Tschumi (a naturalized Swiss citizen), and Jean Nouvel (probably the best). Even the “major projects” sponsored by the pharaoh Mitterrand the Great do not seem, in general, to reach a high level, even though two thousand teams from around the world have participated in the various competitions held.

Due to a legal structure that allows it, a particular figure is common in France: the decorator who does architecture, or the amateur, in the least pejorative and most literal sense of the term. It is unnecessary to mention Jean-Michel Frank, Pierre Chareau, or Eileen Gray, who in various ways revolutionized the world of interior design. The Noailles' living room in stripped oak, a showcase for their magnificent collection of paintings, is another way of displaying works of art; pressed glass enclosures acquire a patent of beauty with Chareau, and the austerity of steel as the ultimate luxury enters high decoration at the hands of that exceptional woman, Gray...[+]