Chelsea

The studies conducted to fine-tune the Chelsea handle are an expression of Jean Nouvel’s artistic sensibility.

It was born contemporaneously with the apartment tower “100 11th Avenue” (2010) designed by Nouvel in the Chelsea neighbourhood of Manhattan.

He imagined the building being a “machine for views” that would capture the reflections of the Hudson River. For the handles, Nouvel asked us for an unusual model.

He was looking for a different shape compared to the tubular geometry that conventionally inspires the lever. He also did not want a cold, hard material like steel, and wished for the senses to guide its formal definition.

He explained that the senses needed to be stimulated by a soft, sensual shape that was pleasant to the touch, a warm, almost silky material.

And finally, he wanted it to become a sign thanks to its colour. His door-handle, whose shape is modelled after a hand gripping it, responds to all these requirements.

The Chelsea is now made in three types of wood under the aegis of Riva 1920: kauri, walnut and olive.