News and Insights

At 54 Montaigne, in the heart of the Golden Triangle, The Olayan Group with asset and development manager Chelsfield are delivering an ambitious luxury flagship redevelopment.

The entire building will be leased to Dolce-&-Gabbana and reflects the retail ambition of the Italian luxury brand.

To meet this challenge the team has called upon the expertise of architectural firm Fresh Architectures.

Today, there is a strong need from retailers for architecture that embodies brands and their ethos and makes them inspiring and unique places. 54 Montaigne demonstrates the Olayan Group and Chelsfield’s expertise in luxury commercial real estate and their ability to create or reinforce iconic locations at a time when brands want to offer a new experience to the public.

Dolce-&-Gabbana is now taking over the premises for its fit-out work with the re-opening of the store set for Spring 2021.

54 Montaigne heralds the revival of luxury commercial real estate in Paris

The challenge was to completely reinvent a tired building whose scale and configuration lent itself perfectly to transformation into a flagship store and a true global showcase for Dolce-&-Gabbana.

Located near the Champs Elysées, 54 Montaigne is a modern and architecturally unique 2,000 sqm building with 1,200 sqm of retail space from the basement to the 2^nd floor. The proposed redevelopment gives rise to the largest luxury flagship store on this Parisian artery, with vast sales areas, showrooms and premium offices as well as numerous outdoor spaces.

A multi-partner project that gives pride of place to French craftsmanship

The success of this “luxury object” is the result of a successful partnership between Olayan, Chelsfield and Fresh Architectures who were able to anticipate the needs and expectations of the tenant Dolce-&-Gabbana who occupied part of the previous building.

The architects of Fresh Architectures have expressed their sensitivity and creativity by innovatively embellishing the existing heritage features with the restoration of the 1912 façade arch. Their proposal was to create a porcelain showcase that would shake up the architecture of Avenue Montaigne by preserving a subtle balance between classicism and audacity. It gives the portico a strong identity in the great architectural diversity of Avenue Montaigne.                      

The attraction of the building remains the new façade, whose picots, moulded and manufactured one by one, come from the Bernardaud workshops in Limoges. The team also called on Pradeau Morin, a subsidiary of Eiffage Construction, which specialises in Parisian renovation and heritage conservation, as well as the award-winning Catalan facade designer Bellapart.

Finally, the project also delivers numerous outdoor spaces:

• An outdoor area accessible to customers (400 sqm terrace on the ground floor).
• Green spaces and a green roof rare for a flagship store.
• The restoration of an historic front garden on Avenue Montaigne, accessible to the public, thanks to the collaboration with the city of Paris urban planning teams.

During the works, the Dolce-&-Gabbana store was temporarily moved to 39 rue François 1^er. This another building will be the future retail project in the Olayan Group’s portfolio.

Jonathan Shelton, at The Olayan Group comments “54 Montaigne is a perfect illustration of the Olayan Group’s long-term strategy of investing in high quality assets that are exceptionally well located around the world and in particular in Paris, a flagship market for high-end luxury retail.”