The Palais Bulles of Pierre Cardin by Jean-Pascal Hesse. Published by Assouline Publishing.
On the cliffs of the French Riviera, le Palais Bulles (the Bubble Palace), the brainchild of architect Antti Lovag, is a futuristic living sculpture. French couturier Pierre Cardin acquired this conceptual home as a showplace for his collections, and this book celebrates this architectural wonder and the adventurous spirit that the legendary fashion designer has brought to life within it. Preface by Pierre Cardin "Some years ago I became the new owner of the Maison Bulles of Pierre Bernard, who had stated in his will that he wanted work on his “bubble house” to carry on after his death. So from 1992, working with Antti Lovag, the creator of this architectural folly, this is what I set out to do. Round shapes have always inspired me; cellular forms have for years seemed to me the physical expression of my ideal environment. And this house clinging to the rocky outcrops of the Estérel massif—beyond time, beyond convention—has become a little corner of paradise for me. Something of a gallery of living art, in a state of perpetual motion, the Palais Bulles is for me a constant and powerful image of creativity—an image that will leave behind it a legacy of civilization! From personal taste, and also because I enjoy being a patron of the arts (however much I may protest otherwise), I also wanted to exhibit works by young artists and designers here. And for the fun of it I built an amphitheater where I could stage open-air events. A crossroads of the arts, a centre of exchange and discovery, the Palais Bulles is now a space for living in the image of my own designs, a source of peace and of energy. In the nomadic life I lead, in my search for the absolute, as crazy as it is marvellous, no other place offers me the depth of sustenance and support that I feel at the Palais Bulles."
