The studio is based in Théoule-sur-Mer, between the Esterel and the bay of Cannes. Olesya Tarasova travels to sites across the French Riviera (Côte d’Azur), from Monaco to Aix-en-Provence, and follows projects in Switzerland.
The sectors below are not a list of towns: each has its own site constraints, and the studio has references there.
The studio’s home sector. From 15 June to 15 September, building work in Cannes is limited to 9 am–12 pm and 2 pm–7 pm on weekdays (by-law 14/1853): studies and orders are scheduled for winter and spring, so as to deliver before the summer.
Reference: a 450 m² apartment in Cannes, interior lighting (2022).
Villas on the Cap and houses in the hinterland, often under major renovation. The studio comes in at the design stage, so that the power and control networks are planned before the plastering.
In Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, noisy work is prohibited from 1 July to 31 August (by-law 20/194); in Villefranche-sur-Mer, in August. A lighting project in these towns is planned so that the main electrical work is finished before the summer.
In Monaco, in August, only quiet finishing work is permitted (ministerial order 2018-1116). Fine-tuning and commissioning a lighting installation, which are silent, can go ahead; wiring cannot.
References: a private villa in Cap-d’Ail with an 11 m light sculpture in the staircase (2026), and sculptural pieces in a residence in Monaco.
On the coast, the building calendar follows the season. In summer, several towns ban or restrict noisy work; seasonal hotels reopen between March and April and close in winter, which becomes the time for works.
For a villa, the right moment to call a lighting designer is the start of the design, alongside the architect: the networks are drawn before the plastering. For a hotel, it is spring, for work during the following closure.
At night, the decree of 27 December 2018 requires shop windows and facades to be switched off at 1 am, prohibits lighting the sea directly and limits the colour temperature of installations: the concept builds these in from the start.
The studio has worked for the Hôtel de Berri, a Luxury Collection Hotel (Paris 8th, 2018), on the facade of the Hôtel Ballu (2017) and for the Breguet Museum, place Vendôme (2014).
Breguet boutique, 40 rue du Rhône, Geneva. Tiffany & Co. boutique, Globus Zurich (2022).
A 2,400 m² villa in Calonge, Spain (2023): interior, facade and landscape. A villa at La Zagaleta (2015). A chalet in Courchevel (2010). Sculptural pieces in London. Earlier international projects can be found on the projects page.
Yes. On the French Riviera, I come to you for the first meeting: we discuss the project on site, in person.
It depends on the project’s timeline, but a first meeting is usually possible within a week.
Yes, it is one of the conditions of a successful project. It is in fact why I refocused my practice on the French Riviera: quality demands a presence on site, right through to switch-on, fine-tuning and the programming of the home automation.
Describe it in two minutes. Olesya will call you back personally.
