Gilles Saint-Gilles, who are you?

Who can answer a question like that... I consider myself an artisan, trained at École Boulle and Beaux-Arts. I have always been in contact with materials, wood, and bronze, and my first concern is respect for the object, its history, and its life.

What does a project mean to you?

It is the union of a place and the being who inhabits it. My second concern is the respect for the inhabitants of a place, their history, their sensibilities, and their aspirations, to bring them serenity and comfort.

A place should not be a reproduction of Versailles, Venice, or the Taj Mahal. It must reflect the capacity to appreciate beauty throughout all ages and especially all continents. 

Why should we not appreciate Ming pottery, primitive arts, 18th-century furnishings, Venetian mirrors, Mies van der Rohe chairs, or baroque dressers? Each person is multifaceted. Why should one live in a clichéd image?

Do you prefer classic or contemporary art?

Stravinsky said that there is not classic or contemporary music. There is only good or bad music. In the sense that space is created today, using elements from the past, we are in a contemporary space, if only because the person inhabiting it is made of flesh and emotion. 

Each person lives today with the culture of their roots. That’s why understanding people is essential in my work.

You have realized a number of princely palaces, upscale residences, castles, country homes, art galleries, and fashion boutiques. How do you create such different spaces for such a diverse clientele?

This question is at the heart of my work. Certainly, cultural aspirations and references are diverse, but the requirement for quality, perfection, and the need for harmony and peace are identical, even if expressed through different methods. I seek to translate the soul of the inhabitant of the place (I don’t like the word client, which excludes all affectivity, emotion, sympathy, and complicity necessary for my work).

In this sense, I consider myself more of an interior than an exterior architect.