Yikes, we wouldn’t like the electrician’s bill if this place needed a weekend call-out for a fried fuse-box – still, if you can afford a 1000sqm penthouse with Eiffel Tower views in Paris, you probably aren’t too worried about the running costs. And you thought things looked complicated in the wiring department down the back of your television? Have a look at this new “cultural platform” in Paris designed by Mathieu Lehanneur and Ana Moussinet.

Electric is the name, and that is the clear central theme, with the standout feature resembling a network of huge twisted trunks of cable, connecting the floor and ceiling like ancient black trees. Live music event space, lounge bar, club, restaurant – you name it and Electric can do it, with soundproofed modules to separate out different events. Not only is the inside space multi-functional but there’s an 80sqm outside terrace area that makes the already roomy venue even more so. Whatever is going on here, this place will be buzzing like an overloaded socket.

Photo, Jean-Claude Guilloux

Photography, Felipe Ribon
unless otherwise stated.