Laura Ellis
New meaning for hidden potential: When Marie and Gilles Ballard were searching for bigger quarters in Paris for their family of four, they toured possibilities of all sorts—until they came across a single-story industrial building in the 11th, “a Chinese fabrics warehouse with no windows or openings to bring in light.” It was exactly what they were looking for. The design-minded couple own jewelry company Medecine Douce (translation: Alternative Medicine): Marie is the founder/creative director, and Gilles, whose background is in finance, runs the business.
And so, on touring the warehouse, they imagined the ultimate in urban indoor-outdoor living: “We pictured opening up the roof to create a patio in the center of what we thought of as a big box.” Thanks to architect Guillaume Terver of Le LAD (Laboratoire en Architecture and Design), the idea actually turned out to be a great one.
