Try GOLD - Free
Taking the Reins
September 2023
|Architectural Digest US
Hermès taps architect Lina Ghotmeh to create the saddle workshop of the future

For its first saddle workshop outside its historic Paris headquarters, Hermès chose the equestrian region of Normandy, in the commune of Louviers. As the company's artistic executive vice president, Pierre-Alexis Dumas, noted at the inauguration in April, "Thierry Hermès was a saddlemaker for 10 years in Normandy before starting the company in the mid-19th century."
Even with this respectful nod to the past, the Maroquinerie de Louviers, designed by French Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh, is 100 percent 21st century in concept, with eco-responsibility at the forefront. For the construction of the 66,700-square-foot building, which sits on some 10 acres, Ghotmeh commissioned local artisans to hand-make the half million red bricks that now enrobe the pinewood frame, minimizing carbon emissions with what she calls "materials from nature" while supporting traditional Norman craft.
This story is from the September 2023 edition of Architectural Digest US.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Architectural Digest US

Architectural Digest US
SHE & HIM WITH DESIGNER YOUNG HUH, ACTOR ZOOEY DESCHANEL AND PROPERTY BROTHER JONATHAN SCOTT FASHION A MAXIMALIST FOOTHOLD FOR THEIR FAMILY IN MANHATTAN
FORGET 2024'S TIKTOK DATING MANTRA: “I'm looking for a man in finance.” Zooey Deschanel found something better: a guy in construction—six-foot-five, with a thing for plaster cornices.
4 mins
November 2025

Architectural Digest US
Connecting the Dots
Reimagining teamwork and engineering awe, an experimental collective navigates the spotlight for the contemporary stage
3 mins
November 2025

Architectural Digest US
Extend the Patterns
Backdrop mines more than a century of Schumacher designs to deliver a remixed line of deliciously retro yet thoroughly modern wallpapers
1 mins
November 2025

Architectural Digest US
Canine Instincts
In Kenya's Laikipia plains, a new safari lodge finds inspiration in the land and its endangered wild dogs
1 mins
November 2025

Architectural Digest US
Change ST of Scenery
SIMONE TRADING NEW YORK CITY FOR RURAL MASSACHUSETTS, ARTIST BODMER-TURNER HAS SETTLED INTO HER NEW HOME STUDIO, EXPANDING HER CREATIVE PRACTICE WITH PARTNER IN WORK AND LIFE, SCOTT MACDONOUGH
2 mins
November 2025

Architectural Digest US
It's All Relatives
Designer Ellen Van Dusen and her siblings update a hand-hewn cabin into a pattern-happy family getaway
2 mins
November 2025

Architectural Digest US
Magic Realism
AT HOME IN MEXICO CITY, MIKE DIAZ CONJURES A FANTASTICAL VISION GROUNDED IN HISTORY
4 mins
November 2025

Architectural Digest US
STUDIO DRAGÓ TRANSFORMS A TURN-OF-THE20TH-CENTURY MILANESE APARTMENT INTO A SLEEK PIED-À-TERRE FOR A STYLISH AMERICAN COUPLE WHO LOVE TO ENTERTAIN
STUDIO DRAGÓ TRANSFORMS A TURN-OF-THE- 20TH-CENTURY MILANESE APARTMENT INTO A SLEEK PIED-A-TERRE FOR A STYLISH AMERICAN COUPLE WHO LOVE TO ENTERTAIN
3 mins
November 2025

Architectural Digest US
Quiet Wisdom
Korean design star Teo Yang bridges cultures and crafts for his first residential project in the United States
2 mins
November 2025
Architectural Digest US
Shine On
Celebrating the centennial of Art Deco, Van Cleef & Arpels retraces the path of two stylish royals from Paris to Tokyo
1 mins
November 2025
Translate
Change font size