Printemps store Paris, the largest beauty department in the world, is about halfway through a $100 million renovation that it hopes to complete in 2010.

“Our vision is to make Printemps the best store in the world,” said Paolo de Cesare, the store’s president and chief executive.

For now, Printemps is under a giant tentwhile a team of 60 artisans bring the flagship’s 1883 façade back to its original Belle Epoque glory.

Treasures have been uncovered during the work, notably the store’s original mosaic signs, which have been restored stone by stone, and the artisans are making new zinc leaves onsite for the domes, which are partially overlaid with gold leaf.

The renovation inside is being done by Yabu Pushelberg, a Canadian architectural firm responsible for the Lane Crawford Home store in Hong Kong.

The design includes moving the central escalators to form a three-level atrium dedicated entirely to luxury accessories.

Designed like an 18-room-refined and extremely contemporary Parisian apartment, the project is based on the opening of an immense central space, a true bridge between the historic heritage of Printemps (which featured central spaces under its cupolas) and its new identity.

A monumental breath of fresh air at the heart of the store, this spectacular nave 15 meters in height creates a vertical dynamic and one unit over three levels.

All of the brands present blend into the world of the store instead of remaining separate with their own concepts.

Source: Nytimes

The flagship Printemps store is located on Boulevard Haussmann in the IXe arrondissement of Paris along with other famous department stores like Galeries Lafayette.