TIPTOE by Mirae
Last January, the TIPTOE team took over a former artist’s studio in Paris’s 16th arrondissement for the shoot of the studio’s new chair, the SSD Full Wood. Large glass roofs, brilliant light, a tree in the middle of the living room—we didn’t need much more to fall in love with this place… and it was Camille Salzman who brought this project to life! Today, we’re introducing her to you.
Hello Camille, could you introduce yourself?
Camille Bour-Salzman, architect and founder of Studio Camille Salzman. Passionate about art, a lover of detail, Parisian at heart and mother of three boys.
What is your background?
A graduate of the Paris-Belleville School of Architecture, I spent my early years developing major urban planning projects in France and internationally. In 2008, I won the EUROPAN competition, which enabled me to found the Beau Bour agency. Very quickly, I felt the need to work in a more concrete, faster way, and above all much more directly with my clients. My deep sensitivity to existing heritage then naturally led me to focus on renovation projects and the challenges they present at their own scale. After 10 years of collaboration, I founded Studio Camille Salzman, driven by a more personal desire to reveal the beauty of what is already there, support the energy transition of existing buildings, and poetically bring a vision of space to life.
How would you describe your world?
I’ve been fortunate enough to draw inspiration from many influences. From my love of art, I took away the essential and universal importance of Beauty in every space. I added to this the principles of simplicity and efficiency, which are at the heart of my architectural approach and help reveal the beauty of a place.
Finally, as a citizen and a woman, developing sustainable, virtuous spaces is both necessary and gives meaning to my work, day after day.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Very often, it comes from the meeting with the client and from the place itself. A volume, a light atmosphere, a landscape, an expectation is always the starting point of the project. Then museums, the places I explore, and encounters with the professionals around me are also an important source of exchange and inspiration.
All these influences blend together, and sometimes in my dreams I find myself wandering through real or imagined places and waking up with a vision for the project.
How do you choose the projects you work on?
Within the studio, we develop quite varied projects: renovation, extension, upward extension, for homes, offices, and cultural spaces. The choice of project is above all based on a meeting with the client and the sharing of a common vision or ambition. I invest a great deal in the projects I take on, so a shared foundation is essential to move through every stage of the project with confidence.
That said, my natural curiosity to go and discover projects I have not yet done is never far away.
How do you work with your clients?
I most often get involved at the very beginning of the project. Whether it is advising during a visit to a property before purchase or helping to lay the foundations of the project brief, I support my clients in their initial reflections to help them define the key aspects of their expectations. I have many conversations with them in the early stages of the project, which allows me to understand their uniqueness (expectations, worlds, approach, sensibility) and quickly share a vision for the project.
How do you work on a new project? What do you look at first?
My attention always focuses on the perception of the different volumes that make up the project. It is essential to me that these different spaces are arranged and interact in an organized, sequenced, and harmonious way. Then, in a very down-to-earth way, and independently of the vision shared with my clients, I need to quickly check that the proposed project is technically and financially feasible.
Once these foundations have been established and refined, I bring together within the studio a team of professionals selected according to the specific requirements of the project (technical design office, architect, designer, landscape architect, etc.). The project is naturally enriched by the team’s cross-disciplinary exchanges.
In your opinion, what is the added value of working with an architect?
Beyond its ability to project into space, it also means surrounding yourself with expertise capable of finding the right balance between a vision and its financial as well as technical execution. The exercise is not simple and requires genuine know-how, acquired through experience.
What do you consider a “successful project”?
A project that will have met a complex technical, architectural, and environmental challenge.
A project that will have contributed to creating a peaceful living space where the residents feel good every day.
A project where, of course, the client is satisfied above all.
Is there a particular project you’d like to highlight here?
The latest project we completed, located in the 16thth arrondissement of Paris, and which I fell in love with on my very first visit.
It is a former artist’s studio to be renovated and extended upward. The energy assessment was frankly poor, and we devoted a large part of the project to the building’s energy renovation while preserving what gave this studio its incredible charm.
The large north-facing glass roofs were replaced to maintain very generous natural light, and the walls were lined, with the exception of the stone wall. The fittings were designed using simple, noble materials (oak, stone, brass, etc.). A tree occupies the heart of the project, at the center of the dining room, arranged like a patio—an indoor garden onto which all the bedrooms open.
I took enormous pleasure in imagining and carrying out this project, and I am very grateful for the trust my client placed in me.
To discover Camille Salzman’s other projects, visit her website: https://www.camillesalzman.com/