Cartier “Cité du Retiro”
The Cartier headquarters, a project by Ricardo Bofill in the historic centre of Paris, convey a notion of rigorous design with its translucent façades. The interior rooms, some austere in feel and others lending themselves to colour with ruby hues, are also supported by the homogenous flooring in Pietra Serena, cut with diamond wire with geometric regularity.
In the first case the grey sandstone, which feels like a fine carpet, contributes through its tonal continuity to soften nearby glare and shadowy depths; whereas in the second case, which is more usual in communal areas, it becomes a blackboard on which to write what you please with flamboyant plaster and light effects. The narrow joints only give a slight hint of where the slabs are laid. The liquidity of the colours of the Pietra Serena go well with that of the retro-enamelled glass which characterises a good part of the facings of the building