Stone simplicity.

Design of a new shop in Paris recasts in a modern way the austerity of the nineteenth-century monastery that once occupied the site.

Claudia Silvestrin's design of the Giorgio Armani shop in Paris recalls the spirit of the nineteenth-century monastery that was once here in the Place Vendome. The site, already occupied by Armani, consisted of two floors with shop windows giving onto the historic square. Quite remarkably for any client, but particularly one so careful of its image, the firm gave Silvestrin carte blanche to do as he wanted.

The handsome nineteenth-century stone facade was restored. Stonework was repaired and cleaned, and arched openings, which had been obliterated by the insertion of modern shop windows, were revealed. Inside, ground and first floors were stripped back to the original fabric to create simple rectangular spaces linked by stairs and divided by strategically placed furniture. Long walls at the back on each level protect changing rooms from public view. To celebrate entrance, the first floor was cut back to create a stone-lined void, 7m high.

Silvestrin has always been remarkable for the classic simplicity of his work (see his Graz menswear shop, AR December 1993 and Calvin Klein shop in Paris, AR September 1997). Characteristically, his interiors possess a monumental quality, appearing as if carved out of the solid. In the Armani shop, Silvestrin has refined his already purist sensibilities, eliminating the inessential and modelling the interior with pale limestone and light.

All walls and floors are of stone, the texture and colour of which react to light which changes as you move from daylit entrance to interior. Inside the shop, free-standing planes of oxidized brass emit soft luminance from concealed halogen and fluoresent lamps. Elsewhere, recessed lamps create glowing squares of light at the base of walls or diffuse it over white ceilings.

The few pieces of furniture consist of tall backed chairs, benches, tables and counters, all made of African ebony. (Armani, who bought a licensed supply, were persuaded by Silvestrin to treasure the inevitable cracking.) Furniture and brass planes are dark counterpoints in the symphony of pale stone. Designed by Silvestrin, the stark simplicity and proportional harmony of these objects recall the architect, AG Fronzoni, under whom the architect once studied.