Depuis 1985, Maurice Padovani exerce comme architecte d’intérieur à Marseille, où il a construit une pratique qui traverse aussi bien la sphère professionnelle que le monde privé. Il a longtemps conçu des espaces pour des bureaux, des restaurants et des commerces, avant d’élargir son travail aux appartements et maisons particulières.

Interrogé sur ses matériaux de prédilection, il se refuse à en désigner un seul : s’il a une affection particulière pour le béton et le bois de cèdre, il considère que chaque matériau trouve sa place selon l’effet qu’il produit dans l’espace.

Maurice Padovani

Marseillais, Maurice Padovani situe l’origine de sa sensibilité architecturale dans une visite d’enfance à l’Unité d’habitation de Le Corbusier — un souvenir qui, dit-il, a inconsciemment marqué son rapport à l’espace bien avant qu’il n’en fasse son métier. Il a d’abord passé près de dix ans dans l’Éducation nationale, un parcours assez éloigné du design, avant de bifurquer : une envie de créer une ligne de mobilier avec un ami, puis une commande inattendue pour concevoir une boutique en franchise, ont constitué son véritable point d’entrée dans l’aménagement d’espace. Depuis, il n’a plus quitté ce domaine.

Il dirige aujourd’hui son agence d’architecture intérieure à Marseille, où il continue à accompagner aussi bien des particuliers que des professionnels dans leurs projets d’aménagement.

This contemporary house is ideally located below the Bonne-Mère, on the heights of the 7th arrondissement of Marseille. With its precise horizontal architecture, this property has benefited from a beautiful illumination, revealed thanks to an ambitious approach.

Target

To completely rethink the decoration and layout of an architect’s house with an austere resonance. To change the location of the kitchen and give the whole a warmer vibe, more in line with the expectations of its owners.

Course of action

Reconnect the house to its environment and its exceptional location by accentuating the inside/outside effect. Use noble materials to give the house a unique character, where the luxury and elegance of clean lines would be the guiding principle.

Achievement

From the entrance, it was necessary to announce the change with a strong gesture, which brings warmth and life. A 6-metre-high steel structure was designed, around which tropical vegetation unfolds. The back wall of this majestic stairwell was clad in a noble wood, creating a chic and coherent picture between stone, wood, and vegetation. The master suite has been remodeled to take full advantage of the superb view.

For this first level, a cameo of pink and terracotta was chosen, echoing the tiles of the surrounding roofs.

On the main level, a play of perspectives was created by the transparency of the solid oak screens, in order to redefine the rooms. In the living room, the green wall extends onto the terrace for an inside/outside effect, with the Friuli Islands as a backdrop. The floor has been modified by applying a resin throughout, providing unity and a soft, soothing feel.

The kitchen has been moved so that it can communicate directly with the outside and once again become a convivial room, dedicated as much to entertaining as to contemplation. The cement tile patchwork wall gives it relief and picks up the colours of the whole project. The electrical equipment throughout the house was replaced with solid brass, adding a refined detail that is not to be overlooked. The furniture in each room was entirely made to measure or selected by Virginie & Rodolphe.

A precise and warm renovation, with subtle exotic details.

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