OWNERS’ PROFILE THE
OWNERS’ PROFILE THE ART OF DESIGN Partners Luis Laplace and Christophe Comoy have become the premier architects of the art world thanks to their keen eyes and willingness to truly listen to what clients want // By Jeffrey T Iverson AMBROISE TÉZENAS LAPLACE, SIMPLY PUT, is a design firm like no other. Founded in Paris in 2004, its rise into the hallowed ranks of Architectural Digest’s AD100 list has been fuelled by the uncommon talents of its founders, the Argentinian architect Luis Laplace and the French lawyer Christophe Comoy. It’s a partnership that has bridged not only the New World with the Old, but merged the realms of art and design with the client-centred codes of the service industry. In an era of self-aggrandising, signature architects, Luis Laplace has distinguished himself less by his audacity than his sensitivity, celebrating art and nature before his own creative brilliance, through bespoke interiors and architectural designs with a palpable sense of place. Born in Buenos Aires, Laplace’s first passion wasn’t for design, but the ceramic arts. He carried that artistic sensibility into his profession after graduating from Universidad de Belgrano in 1995 with a Master’s Degree in Architecture & Urbanism. Moving to New York, he would cut his teeth with Selldorf Architects. There, in a decade that saw a resurgence of minimalism, Laplace refined a vision of architecture wholly at odds with the white cube template then in vogue. “Minimalism makes for a nice photo, but generally it doesn’t work in real life,” he says. “For me, it means lack of personality, of history, lack of everything.” Laplace, on the contrary, imagined designs steeped in character and context, informed by a client’s needs, tastes and – whenever possible – art collection. In 2002, Selldorf sent Laplace to Mallorca to oversee the construction of a residence for the owner of one of the most important contemporary art collections in Europe – Ursula Hauser, co-founder of the Hauser & Wirth gallery. The project DIFFERENT STROKES Luis Laplace, left, and Christophe Comoy have a unique take on design; facing page: their work at Mount Street Restaurant, London, one of many collaborations with Hauser & Wirth 42 NetJets
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