The flagship store of Anna Ruohonen won the Best Shop in Paris prize in 2014. Petite Maison de Couture was situated at 227 Boulevard Raspail from 2013-2018. It was created by architect Pekka Littow.

The building closely corresponded with the beliefs of Anna Ruohonen – a conception and a local fabrication of quality clothing, ethical and ecological.

The prism shape of the house and the bow windows exacerbate the transparency of the façade and push the limits of the building to the street, in order to enhance the visibility of the brand and communicate it’s ideological commitments. The store windows reveal to the passersby different stages of design, manufacturing and marketing.

The framing of the outer casing is made of pre-weathered zinc cassettes of reddish-brown. The mat surface of zinc generates a contrast to the brightness of the glass and the stainless steel oriels. 

Sustainable development is also a key issue: the architect, strong in his Finnish culture, wanted to invest in quality and durable products to control consumption and fight against waste. 

The building that houses La Petite Maison de Couture is a townhouse, renovated from top to bottom like a miniature tower by architect Pekka Littow. This architectural project represented for him a rare opportunity in a city as dense and solid as Paris. 

A miniature tower of 7 levels

Composed completely by verticality, on 23m² ground space, La Petite Maison de Couture Anna Ruohonen possesses a unique sense of urban density, but relinquishes nothing to the quality of the interior life.  

The first two floors are intended as showroom and sale spaces. The next two house the production workshops. The last floors accommodate the office of the designer, a kitchen and a terrace, by which the roof can be accessed, thought of like a small garden in itself. 

Traffic moves via a series of stairs of straight flights, which liberates space inside. Articulated around workspaces, this circulation creates a highly original architectural route. 

Architect Pekka Littow together with Designer Anna Ruohonen