Balzac Paris went to meet Rebecca Benichou , founding architect of the Batiik Studio agency, in her Parisian apartment with Mediterranean accents . His projects, his dreams, his inspirations and his favorite Balzac Paris pieces: discover his interview in our Journal. 

REBECCA BENICHOU

My name is Rebecca Benichou , I am 35 years old and I am an interior designer. I set up my agency, Batiik Studio , 7 years ago! We mainly do apartment renovations, many of which are dedicated to seasonal rentals. But we are also working on lots of different projects: art galleries, cafés, restaurants … And we are also currently working on a hotel project in Biarritz !

REBECCA BENICHOU

Yes ! We recently made a small apartment on rue du Bac in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, which we call among ourselves a “mini hotel” because it is dedicated to seasonal rentals. It is very small: it is 24m2 ! But we really pushed the concept of the hotel industry so that it is a different product from what you usually find on Airbnb-type sites, everything is worked on by color, everything has been custom-designed, it's a real small box. 

REBECCA BENICHOU

I would say the sculptress Niki de Saint Phalle . She is part of the school of Nice and I come from Nice, I have been impregnated since childhood with her work and that of all the artists of this same school. I love his way of representing the woman who is not at all conventional, his very colorful work, with many patterns, I find that very inspiring.

There is also Agnès Varda . I especially love the character! I've seen all of her films, but what I love most is the woman she was, her looks, her iconic haircut, she's touching, she was strong but with a big heart! 

REBECCA BENICHOU

It's a good question ! I've always wanted to join the army, don't ask me why, when I was little I even dreamed of being a fighter pilot . So maybe I would like to be 24 hours in the shoes of a military woman ! I think about it but I would also have loved to be a web developer. I find it incredible to be able to crack codes, go deep into the web… I find it super exciting: you have to solve puzzles all the time! 

REBECCA BENICHOU

Apart from the military? Seriously, I would have loved to go to business school and set up lots of start-ups! I've already set up a business in the sense that I have my architecture agency, but it's not the same thing. I love the idea of ​​working on lots of different concepts, having a thousand projects, wondering how to make it work, challenging myself every day, I think it's great and I think I would have been good at it . At one point in my life, I thought of setting up something alongside my agency, but it's already taking me so long! And me, I am not at all for “working too much”, I am for “working… then enjoying”. I obviously love my job and I'm a hard worker, however, I also need to do other things, to have time for myself and to travel!

REBECCA BENICHOU

Even if it is often men who are famous architects, women are just as talented, it is not a question of gender! All women can become excellent architects, we all have something new, a different perspective to bring. Nothing is impossible if you listen to your sensitivity!

REBECCA BENICHOU