4 Place des Victoires, Paris, 2025

For this project, we must remember the major historical aspect of this square, and of French history, which we have completely integrated into our artistic thinking.

In fact, this is one of the 4 Place Royale in Paris dedicated to the King's military victories, and mainly to Louis XIV.

In 1685, Louis XIV commissioned Jules Hardouin Mansart to design a circular square,the Place des Victoires, with an imposed layout of facades, for the aristocracy of the ancien régime. It became one of the 5 royal squares of Paris, along with Place des Vosges, Place Dauphine, Place Vendôme and Place de la Concorde. Built in 1694, number 4 was a "house on the street" for Anne d'Halloy: at the beginning of the 18th century, the Bergeret de Talmont family moved in. During the French Revolution, the hotel was transformed into a commercial building, then in the 19th century, as on the entire square, the first floor, entresol and 1st floor were turned into shops. In 1920, the Banque de France bought the building and converted it into offices, before selling it in the 2020s. The hotel, listed in 1962, will then return to its 19th-century commercial and residential functions, with careful restoration of the facades and enhancement of the interior spaces.

The challenge of this project is to bring together the Great History (of France, and of its king Louis XIV), in this place, with the personal history of one man, Mr Gozlan, and his family.