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SentryGlas® Expressions™ key to flagship Lancel store redesign in Paris

DuPont™ SentryGlas® Expressions™ decorative laminated glass is used for the Otis elevator doors and surrounding walls in Lancel’s redesigned signature store in Paris’s historic Place de l’Opéra. Architect Francois Dumoulin sketched the antique ironwork motif that is digitally retraced with elegance within the laminated glass.

The architects of Lancel’s redesigned signature store in Paris’s historic Place de l’Opéra have incorporated DuPont™ SentryGlas® Expressions™ decorative laminated glass technology as a key element in achieving the “audacious and innovative” style required by this prestigious client.

SentryGlas® Expressions™ decorative laminated glass is used for the Lancel store’s Otis elevator, including fully-functioning doors and the surrounding glass walls. The doors and glass walls feature an intricate, mosaic design that recalls the beautifully-crafted, antique ironwork railings that are as much a hallmark of the surrounding Place de l’Opéra today as they were 70 or 80 years ago.

Well known Parisian architect François Dumoulin of the firm Versions was responsible for Lancel’s store refit, and personally sketched the antique ironwork motif. Thanks to DuPont™ SentryGlas® Expressions™ technology, his design could be digitally retraced with the degree of purity and elegance required by Otis and Lancel. The fact that the elevator doors and glass walls are made of laminated glass also means that they comply fully with state-of-the-art in-store safety and security standards.

Architect Dumoulin said: “Our design goal was to recreate the feeling of a small luxury store in turn-of-the-century Paris. Not to direct copy it stone by stone, but to reinterpret it in a contemporary architectural way. SentryGlas® Expressions® was essential to the project in that DuPont’s decorative glass technology allowed us to scan in our original drawings of the antique ironwork, digitalize the artwork, and reproduce it within the elevator glasswork.

“An important design concept for the new store was to incorporate state-of-the-art laminated glass technology to replace the traditional metal grilles that protected people in the original elevator. Laminated glass gives people riding the elevators uninterrupted views of the four-storey store and its merchandize.”

Otis representatives commented: “Attractive showcasing is of great importance for our scenic elevator installations. The use of SentryGlas® Expressions® technology has allowed the architectural design team to be truly creative. The laminated glass interior walls and doors not only showcase the Lancel store elevator but transform it into a genuine decorative element in itself that blends perfectly into its environment.

“Architects today are increasingly seeking to merge the charm of old fashioned elevators with modern design concepts. The use of SentryGlas® Expressions™ technology enabled the design team to do this, while also meeting today’s demanding safety standards.”

The laminated glass for the Lancel store was supplied by Macocco Vitrages of Paris. Macocco Sales Director Robert Joly explained: “Mr Dumoulin’s motif was digitally printed onto a 1.52 mm interlayer of PVB. This was then laminated between two 12 mm panes of extra clear glass at our factory in Nangis. The laminated glass will protect the artwork for many years to come, even in the context of a busy, luxury retail store in the heart of Paris with thousands of shoppers riding in the elevators every day.”

The reopening of Lancel’s signature store in September 2004 was feted by the worlds of fashion and architecture alike. Lancel representatives commented: “The audacious and innovative architectural style chosen for the refit of our Place de l’Opéra store remains totally in keeping with the spirit of this very beautiful and historic area of Paris.”