Luxury Indian Ocean No3 Édition 2016 | Page 21

© Ki-Hwan Lee

Trying to lasso Jean-Michel Wilmotte
is no piece of cake! A world reference in
his field, this architect seems to be always
hopping from one plane to the other and
from one project to another, caught in
between whimsical contemplations. But
when we finally manage to meet him, he
strikes us as being peculiarly composed.
With his deep reflections grounded
both in the here and now and beyond
this, he displays carefully contemplated
manners that sit well with our conception
of a great builder. How then do we go
about describing Jean-Michel Wilmotte
without taking into consideration the
mutually exclusive tags of the poised chap,
on the one hand, and the roving fellow
on the other? One clue to this probably
resides in the construal of his driving
force as one that stems from a sense of
serene nomadism. Ultimately, isn’t this
the great mark of all those gifted with
creative acumen? Never be where one is
the most expected. Wilmotte’s ingenuity
is so impressive that it prompts him to
travel the world. In a sense, the transition
from dream to reality is also nomadic in
nature, and since its inception, the idea of
movement arises from transitions between
internal and external architecture.
What draws him then to Mauritius, a tiny
dot in this big big world which he keeps
touring? Guess what? It’s breaking news:
he has been entrusted by the management
of Anahita with the responsibility of
designing one ‘high fashion’ project of
private villas on one of the most beautiful
sites of the island. The time was therefore
ripe to learn more about this one-of-akind professional career.

LUXURY MAURITIUS

19