Chelsea Porcelain

Jean Nouvel
 2013
M232B-2

The studies conducted to fine-tune the Chelsea handle are an expression of Jean Nouvel’s artistic sensibility. He designed it when he was working on 100 11th Avenue in the Chelsea neighbourhood of Manhattan, a 23-storey residential tower he describes as “a vision machine” that captures reflections from the nearby Hudson River. For the handles, Nouvel asked us for an unusual model. He wanted a shape that was different from the tubular geometry conventionally used for the lever.

FINISHES

  • CB - Bright chrome/White CB - Bright chrome/White CB - Bright chrome/White
  • CE - Bright chrome/Matt black CE - Bright chrome/Matt black CE - Bright chrome/Matt black
  • MB - Satin chrome/White MB - Satin chrome/White MB - Satin chrome/White
  • ME - Satin chrome/Matt black ME - Satin chrome/Matt black ME - Satin chrome/Matt black
Clear

MATERIAL

Brass

TYPOLOGY

Door handles - Round - Special

TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION

Technical sheets

door handle, window handle, DK
door handle, window handle, DK

COMPLETE COLLECTION

Chelsea

COLLEZIONE COMPLETA

Chelsea

DOCUMENTAZIONE TECNICA

Technical sheets

door handle, window handle, DK
door handle, window handle, DK

Chelsea

Chelsea Porcelain,
 2013

He also refused the materiality of steel, because he was letting his senses guide its formal definition. He wanted them to be stimulated by a soft, sensual shape that was pleasant to the touch, and a material that was warm, almost buttery. And finally, his aim was for the handle to be a mark, thanks to the use of colour

— 100 11th Avenue, New York 2010
— Jean Nouvel

These were the requirements that engendered the Chelsea. It is modelled after the print of a hand gripping it, and made in soft, black rubber.

VEDI BIO Jean Nouvel

SEE BIO Jean Nouvel

— Institut du monde arabe IMA, Paris 1987

In the factory, when we engineered it for serial production, we experimented with Nouvel using different materials like wood and glass, until we decided to use porcelain in matte black and shiny white. Both are lively objects with great communicative. — Antonio Olivari

— Fondation Cartier, Paris, France 1994
— Conference Center, France, 1993