Boisson Bottle Shop
Los Angeles 
2022

Studio Paul Chan has designed a contemporary space for the non-alcoholic bottle shop Boisson’s first store in Los Angeles. Inspired by Wes Anderson’s French Dispatch and Maison de Verre by Pierre Chareau, the studio aimed to create a space that infuses a sense of tradition with the new, somewhat surreal experience of selecting a non-alcoholic bottle of wine.

The layered narrative mixes artisanal materials with machine-made elements, creating a conceptual parallel between non-alcoholic drinks and traditional wine. Stained wood wall panels with Deco-inspired fixtures stand in front of dusty emerald green lime wash walls, bringing order and cadence to the space. The walnut-stained wood panels lend scale to the high-ceilinged space and create a dialogue between natural and machine-made elements when juxtaposed with thin metal shelves.

The store’s reception area features a custom glass block cash wrap that glows gently, attracting the passerby to enter the store. The cash wrap is made of steel structured infilled with hundreds of glass blocks, creating a warm ambient scene reminiscent of Maison de Verre. Sensual curves of the Pipistrello Table Lamp by Gae Aulenti punctuate the cash wrap and bring a sense of warmth and organic lines to contrast with the straight lines and architectural elements in the space.

“There is delight in using the ordinary in extraordinary ways, and I like the element of surprise. Light and shadow can become materials too and as if by magic, heavy things can become unexpectedly weightless.”