French Ambassy in Beijing

I had the honor and privilege to work on the project for the new French embassy in Beijing, China. I was commissioned to literally "dress-up" the windows of the 3 huge halls where all the official lunches & dinners are to be held.

The most important feature of this project for me was its' monumental dimensions as I was to dress-up 28 windows that are 1m10 wide and about 7m high. Another important point was that I was asked to use only the most transparent fabric possible because in Beijing the sky is nearly always grey and there is no direct sun light. Although I had "carte-blanche" design-wise, these two technical constraints  where a big challenge for me : as the transparent fabric was too soft, too light and too fragile to be used as gliding panels and in such huge dimensions. After many tests and prototyping, and thanks to skillful suppliers, I managed to find the right technical solutions.

From the aesthetic point of view, these panels are a part of my "trompe l'oeil" collection. The idea is to create the illusion of reliefs and pleats on the fabric while it is actually flat. The impression you get is different each time and depends on the view angle and quality of the light that hits the fabric. This creates an atmosphere which is relaxing and welcoming at the same time.