Emmanuel Barrois: The glass alchemist who reinvents contemporary architecture

A unique technique that has won over some of the biggest names, starting with Paul Andreux. Emmanuel has made monumental architecture his specialty. He designed the roof of the Canopée du Forum des Halles, the drape of the Musée de la Romanité in Nîmes and the white scales of the Fond régional d'art contemporain in Marseille. The Fondation Louis Vuitton, the Samaritaine and the Carrousel du Louvre also bear his imprint, as do many luxury boutiques. More recently, an impressive 15-metre-high sculpture in the shape of a glass scaffold will take pride of place in the gardens of the Palais-Royal in Paris at the end of 2023. “We worked with German engineers, who produced over 3,000 pages of calculations to achieve this result. It took 3 years and no less than 8 tonnes of glass to bring this technical feat to life. A world first.

The master glassmaker encourages the architects he works with to set no limits. Technique is at the service of imagination. That's why he has surrounded himself with a multi-disciplinary team: craftsmen, technicians, engineers... Even if, when all is said and done, training counts less than people. “We're light-years away from what's taught in schools, so I place a lot of value on the motivation of people who want to work with me,” he explains. At Atelier Barrois, we create, we experiment, we innovate, with a work methodology that has won over many private individuals.

Emmanuel definitely doesn't shy away from anything: “I'm not interested in comfort, I work on the principle that anything is possible. To this day, I've never promised something I couldn't deliver. The master glassmaker encourages the architects he works with to set no limits. Technique is at the service of imagination. That's why he has surrounded himself with a multi-disciplinary team: craftsmen, technicians, engineers... Even if, when all is said and done, training counts less than people. “We're light-years away from what's taught in schools, so I place a lot of value on the motivation of people who want to work with me,” he explains. At Atelier Barrois, we create, we experiment, we innovate, with a work methodology that has won over many private individuals.

The majority of projects now involve interiors all over the world. In Europe, of course, but also in the Middle East and the United States, where Emmanuel has opened an office. This know-how is being exported, attracting many international architects. With their wealthy customers, they don't come to him by chance: they often want to own a unique creation that can't be found anywhere else. The ultimate luxury. To satisfy them, the craftsman holds nothing back: walls, ceilings, floors, pergolas... Glass, which he compares to solid light, allows him to push back the limits of creation. And yet, he sometimes has to choose which projects to work on, keeping in mind his main objective of constant improvement: “We've never stopped moving upmarket. The more complex a project is, the more we have to innovate and create new processes, and the more relevant it is for us”. While Emmanuel puts his customers' wishes at the center of his thinking, he admits to a penchant for sober, minimalist aesthetic environments, and is attracted by projects that go hand in hand with his affinity for contemporary architecture.

A meeting with an art craftsman gave rise to a vocation. He has embraced this “late-maturing profession”, as he likes to call it, and doesn't see himself leaving it any time soon. He cites architects such as Jean Nouvel, 78, Frank Gehry, 95, Norman Foster, 88, and Rudy Ricciotti, 71, and points out that these are professions in which the level of skill and hindsight needed to reach the pinnacle of one's art doesn't arrive until the age of 50. This is a godsend, since Emmanuel Barrois seems in no hurry to stop: “I spend my time imagining beautiful things, for beautiful places, with interesting people. All while traveling. What more could you ask for?