‘Luxury
brands can
appear static
and stubborn
from the
outside,
but they
actually work
organically’
While designing his Tokyo home-cum-studio, Nicolas
learned to consult specialists that can help him push
things to the limits and make the impossible possible.
The result reflects the power of collaboration.2005
C-1
‘I wanted to design my life,’ says Nicolas
of the Tokyo building that once served as
his home and studio, and is now solely the
latter. Continuing his filmic fascinations,
he strung together a storyboard of how he
wanted to live and which companies could
help make it happen. Nicolas rethought
everything from bathroom fittings (includ-
ing developing an unconventional tap,
which Agape eventually snapped up for
production) to lighting systems, approach-
ing clients with his out-there ideas.
Not only did the project prove the power of
pushing things to the limits; it also revealed
what’s possible through collaboration.
‘When you want to make something boring,
nobody wants to help you. But everyone gets
on board for the seemingly insane jobs. The
designer’s role is to create a core. Specialists
play their own parts and achieve their own
successes. The engineering guy, for instance,
is so proud of C-1. All I asked was: can we
make the floor thinner? It’s no fun to design
only what you know. There are people muchsmarter than me who can find better solu-
tions, so I learned to simply ask.’
Nicolas likens moving around
C-1’s Guggenheim-esque perimeter ramp
to ‘flying in space around a glass box’.
Considering how the architecture would
look from every angle provided him with a
new perspective on how to build it. ‘I sent
drawings to my architect brother, who told
me my design was impossible. A year later
I showed him a picture of the result. He
couldn’t believe it.’66 PORTRAITS