Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The building of the 15 Square Vergennes, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, was designed in 1932 by architect Robert Mallet-Stevens for his friend Louis Barillet, renowned master glassmaker. This Art Deco-style building, classified as a historic monument since 1993, originally included stained glass production workshops, offices and a private apartment. Its innovative reinforced concrete architecture freed the workspaces of carrying structures, while the large north window provided a uniform light ideal for artisans.

The collaboration between Barillet and Mallet-Stevens, visible in projects such as Villa Cavrois or Villa Noailles, is embodied here by a monumental vertical window and a workshop window. The spaces were organized by floors: ground floor dedicated to mosaic and ovens, first floor for cutting glass, upper floors for drawing and control of stained glass windows. A gallery around it housed archives and photo labs, while Barillet's apartment occupied the last level.

After the death of Louis Barillet in 1948, the workshop was transferred to Rue de Vaugirard around 1960 by his son Jean. When the building was abandoned after the Thirty Glories, it was restored in the 2000s by collector Yvon Poullain, who made it a museum until 2011. Since 2018, it has been owned by Xavier Niel and hosts Matrix, an innovation institute that opens its doors during Heritage Days.

The building illustrates the rise of stained glass in Art Deco architecture and the reconstruction of the Interwar period, when Barillet, faced with increasing demand, left his first studio on Alain-Chartier Street for this place adapted to monumental creations. The mosaics of the bearings and the remaining stained glass windows, such as that of the stairwell in laminated glass, bear witness to this lavish era.

Ranked for its heritage importance, the building also housed the Mendjisky-Écoles de Paris museum, dedicated to artists from the two schools in Paris, from 2014 to 2016. Today, its dual vocation — preservation of heritage and contemporary innovation — makes it a unique place, where the legacy of Barillet and Mallet-Stevens dialogue with current projects.

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