Michelle Hoffman

Like a little chapel on the prairie, architect Jean-Baptiste Barache’s simply elegant retreat in the tiny Normandy town of Auvillier is a modern play on centuries-old forms and technology.

A maker of unfussy, elegant design objects, Inga Sempé delights in things both great and small—even if she doesn’t own any.

Critics call Paris a "living museum." If so, designer Erwan Bouroullec curates a must-see list from a compelling collection.

Botanist Patrick Blanc has been bringing the wilds of the rainforests to Parisian walls for over 30 years, most recently at the Jean Nouvel–designed Quai Branly museum.

“Technically it’s a cinch,” Patrick Blanc says, and with a wave of the hand ticks off the ingredients needed to build a plant wall: ten-millimeter-thick waterproof PVC slabs covered…