Late Designer Kenzō Takada’s Former Paris Villa Fuses Fashion and Japanese Minimalism

Originally created by the late Japanese fashion designer Kenzō Takada three decades ago, this serene Parisian oasis recently underwent an extensive redesign at the hands of noted Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, best known for his work on Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium and Denmark’s Hans Christian Andersen Museum.

Now the contemporary residence is available for only the third time since its 1993 inception, with the asking price revealed only upon request. The listing is held by Marie-Hélène Lundgreen of Belles demeures de France, the international subsidiary of Daniel Féau Conseil Immobilier, Christie’s International Real Estate’s exclusive Paris affiliate.

Nestled in Paris’s bustling Bastille district, within the courtyard of an 18th-century apartment building, the stunning cedar-shingled structure spans four levels, and offers four bedrooms and six baths sprawled across 14,000 square feet of East-meets-West living space adorned throughout with French oak louvers, beams and floors. In addition to a trio of studio apartments for staff, other amenities include a gym, wine cellar, music room, sky-lit media lounge, an elevator and two private parking spaces.

Especially standing out is a Japanese-style pavilion, which boasts a traditional tea ceremony room, tatami-mat floors and Shoji sliding doors opening to a serene garden anchored by a stone-encased koi pond. Additional highlights include a spacious living room spotlighted by a wood-burning fireplace and oak steps leading to an elevated dining room that’s separated from a kitchen by more Shoji screens.

A mezzanine-level study is decked out with floor-to-ceiling built-in bookshelves, a freestanding stove and glass doors spilling out to a terrace; and elsewhere is a stair hall that serves as an art gallery and fireside master retreat equipped with a Japanese-style bath There’s also an engawa, a traditional Japanese exterior corridor crafted using wood lattice that replaced an indoor lap pool.