Pharrell Williams turns architect with Drophaus, a ‘future dwelling idea’

Pharrell Williams, the inventive director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear line, is a real multi-hyphenate. Designer, musician, producer – and, as of this night, architect, having revealed a ‘timeless future dwelling idea’ in the midst of his A/W 2026 runway present for the Parisian home. It was introduced in a specifically constructed present house subsequent to Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris’ Bois de Boulogne, having additionally been teased on Instagram earlier than the present (a sequence of clips confirmed architectural fashions and plans, captioned with ‘constructing the long run’)

The constructing is a collaboration with Shinji Hamauzu’s Tokyo-based Not a Resort, an organization which has created a sequence of trip houses throughout Japan, that are architect-designed and offered by fractional possession, quite than the standard renting of rooms (‘it was vital to indicate that we have been utterly completely different out of your common resort,’ Hamauzu advised Wallpaper* when he was awarded a 2023 Design Award for the undertaking). In February final yr, Williams and his shut collaborator Nigo have been introduced as ‘buyers and inventive advisors’ for the corporate, with a number of initiatives within the works.

The constructing itself is titled ‘Drophaus’, named for the way in which it finds inspiration in a droplet of water. Compressed glass partitions mimic a water drop; the impact, says Williams, is that the traces between the house and the backyard are blurred (within the present set, it was surrounded by Japanese-style terraces and lengthy grasses). He says that the dwelling house is one among an ‘outsider’s design mindset’, which is about ‘reimagining disciplines round feeling, perform and cultural relevance’.

‘I grew up round water, I’m drawn to it, I construct and create my finest work near it. Drophaus relies on a water drop, so in the event you stand again and take the roof and the ceiling off, it’s only a drop,’ Williams tells Wallpaper*. ‘If I can’t reside in water, that is the closest factor. Drophaus is my imaginative and prescient of the long run – one thing that is smart in the present day or 20 years from now as a result of it’s constructed on perform, savoir-faire and actual human want. I’m not an architect. I’m an answer builder.’

True to this multidisciplinary method, Drophaus additionally options ‘Homework’, a brand new furnishings sequence whereby every object has ‘ten per cent imperfection’ – whether or not of their irregular varieties or undulating textured surfaces. Williams says he designed them to stress this as a spot for dwelling: reflecting this, the invite for the present was a pair of leather-based slippers imprinted with the present’s date. And, at the beginning of the present, a trio of fashions explored the house, earlier than strolling the grass-covered runway.