1 · POSITION
Emad Khashoggi built COGEMAD around a particular residential proposition: a highly finished private home whose architecture, decoration, technical systems and continuing care are conceived together. Château Louis XIV made that proposition internationally visible. His place in the Library rests on development and design coordination, with a connection to private hospitality through estate services. It does not depend on treating his houses as hotels or their historical styles as evidence of ancient construction. [1–4]
2 · REGISTER POSITION
No named entry for Khashoggi, COGEMAD, Château Louis XIV or Palais Vénitien was found in the supplied register. Château Louis XIV is proposed as the principal residential anchor. The master retains NO_REGISTRY_NUMBER pending a formal admission decision.
3 · IDENTITY AND PROFESSIONAL SCOPE
COGEMAD identifies Khashoggi as founder and chief executive. This record concerns his company and completed residential work. Other people bearing the Khashoggi name, and the political or commercial histories associated with them, are not interchangeable subjects. 1
4 · FOUNDATION IN 1989
The founder’s official biography dates COGEMAD to 1989. That fixed date is preferable to undated website phrases describing the business as 25 or 35 years old, which may survive through successive website revisions. 1
5 · EDUCATION
The same biography records secondary education at Le Rosey in Switzerland and graduation from Pepperdine University in 1987. These are company-published biographical facts. They do not establish professional architectural registration or an architectural degree. 1
6 · THE FOUNDER’S STATED AMBITION
His biography emphasises bringing traditional craftspeople together with technical specialists. The useful proposition is coordination across trades: a decorative ambition has to coexist with a functioning contemporary house. The completed projects provide the test of that proposition. 1
7 · LA TROPICALE
COGEMAD describes its early work as the transformation of La Tropicale, a Belle Époque villa in Cannes. This places adaptation of existing residential fabric near the beginning of the company’s history. A precise completion date is not supplied in the reviewed account. 2
8 · PALAIS NAPOLÉON
The company credits itself with Palais Napoléon at Golfe-Juan, a residential development of 120 luxury apartments. This is a useful counterpoint to its later individual estates: the early portfolio was not confined to single-family palaces. 2
9 · PARIS HEADQUARTERS
COGEMAD dates the establishment of its Paris headquarters to 1998. Its subsequent account includes Château du Verduron and Palais Rose. The geographical shift accompanied work on existing houses with established architectural identities. 2
10 · RESTORATION AS A DISTINCT PRACTICE
A historic house brings inherited fabric and earlier authors into a commission. A new building offers different freedoms. The distinction is essential when comparing Palais Rose with Château Louis XIV; neither project should be used as shorthand for the other.
11 · LEADING A MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM
A 2018 interview reproduced by COGEMAD describes Khashoggi as heading design and conception alongside architects, engineers and interior designers. It supports personal creative involvement, while preserving the contributions of the professional team. It is a company-hosted account, not an independent allocation of every design credit. 3
12 · WORKING FROM THE CLIENT BRIEF
The interview describes translating a client’s brief into a vision and adding ideas from the design team. This places the company between bespoke commission and authored proposition. The balance can differ by project; it should not be assumed that every house followed an identical procurement model. 3
13 · CHÂTEAU LOUIS XIV
The château stands in Louveciennes, west of Paris. COGEMAD explicitly describes it as new construction inspired by the architecture of Louis XIV’s reign. Its historical language is intentional, but the building is a contemporary residence. 4
14 · THE ANCHOR PROPOSITION
Château Louis XIV is the clearest proposed anchor because it brings the company’s craft, technical and spatial ambitions together in a completed house. A separate residence record should establish construction chronology, full project credits and the distinction between private occupation and visitor access.
15 · SCALE, WITH A CORRECTION
COGEMAD publishes approximately 7,000 square metres of building area and 23 hectares of grounds. Its accompanying conversion of 23 hectares to 69 acres is inconsistent: 23 hectares is about 56.8 acres. The metric figure is retained without reproducing the incorrect conversion. 4
16 · HISTORICAL REFERENCES
The château’s name honours Louis XIV, while its gardens invoke Le Nôtre’s tradition. These are references adopted by modern designers. Neither the king nor the seventeenth-century landscape designer is an author of this new construction. 4
17 · CRAFT COORDINATION
The company identifies stonemasonry, ironwork, gilding, decorative painting, marble and textiles within the project. Their coordination matters more than claims that no comparable work had ever been attempted. Individual workshop credits remain an important requirement for a fuller house history. 4
18 · CONTEMPORARY COMFORT
Published specifications include integrated control of lighting, shutters, climate and sound. The ambition was to place contemporary domestic systems within a classical visual language. The presence of those systems does not establish their present condition, reliability or performance. 4
19 · THE UNDERWATER LOUNGE
The company-hosted interview describes an acrylic dome room in the moat, connected to the château by a tunnel. It attributes the proposal to Khashoggi. This is unusually specific evidence of a personal design contribution, although the attribution remains the company’s account. 3
20 · SPECTACLE AND EVERYDAY USE
An underwater room gives the house an immediately recognisable image. Its value as an editorial example lies in how an exceptional experience is incorporated into domestic space. That is different from demonstrating that it improved daily life or became a model adopted elsewhere.
21 · THE REPORTED TRANSACTION
Bloomberg reported a price exceeding €275 million, approximately US$301 million, citing two anonymous people familiar with the sale. Its syndicated report said COGEMAD and Christie’s declined comment. The price is therefore attributed reporting, not a notarial figure independently examined for this master. 5
22 · DATING THE SALE
COGEMAD places the sale in 2015. The Gulf News version of Bloomberg’s report carries a later update date; that page timestamp should not be mistaken for a separate transaction. Publication history and event chronology need to remain distinct. [1,5]
23 · THE WORLD-RECORD DESCRIPTION
The transaction was widely described as a residential world record. This master retains that historical description as reported at the time. It does not endorse the company’s continuing claim to the record or compare unlike categories of private property sales. [1,5]
24 · REPORTED PURCHASER
AFP reported in December 2017 that Mohammed bin Salman had been identified as the purchaser by the New York Times and Mediapart; Saudi officials declined comment. This is a dated account of reported ownership, not verification of the current title or beneficial-ownership structure. 12
25 · FAME AND AUTHORSHIP
The buyer’s profile and reported price amplified the château’s visibility. Neither resolves the architectural question. The Library’s useful subject is what Khashoggi and the team made, how they made it, and whether the approach had a demonstrable influence beyond this one sale.
26 · PALAIS ROSE’S EARLIER LIFE
Destination Yvelines dates Palais Rose at Le Vésinet to around 1900 and relates it to the Grand Trianon. The property’s earlier history includes Robert de Montesquiou and Luisa Casati. It possessed a cultural identity long before COGEMAD’s intervention. 9
27 · A HOUSE OF ENTERTAINING
The destination authority describes Montesquiou’s receptions for artists and writers, including Debussy, Colette and Jean Cocteau. That history gives the house a documented connection to social hospitality. It must not be presented as a programme initiated by its later restorer. 9
28 · RESTORATION CHRONOLOGY
COGEMAD dates the extensive Palais Rose works from 1999 to 2005. The company describes alterations alongside conservation of the protected part of the building. This is the chronology of its intervention, rather than the construction date of the original residence. 8
29 · EXPANDING BELOW THE GARDEN
The project account describes new living and leisure space beneath the park. The architectural problem was to enlarge contemporary accommodation while retaining the house’s historic presentation. The reported achievement belongs to a specific intervention, not to a universal formula for historic buildings. 8
30 · A DOMESTIC LEISURE PROGRAMME
The published Palais Rose programme includes a 16-metre pool, gym, cinema and squash court. These facilities extend the activities possible within a private estate. They do not establish commercial spa operations, hotel licensing or access for paying guests. 8
31 · GUESTS AND STAFF
COGEMAD lists a guest house, caretaker accommodation and staff quarters. Those supporting spaces make the property more intelligible as a functioning household. Guest suites alone reveal little about service unless the supporting accommodation and organisation are also understood. 8
32 · PUBLIC ACCESS IS LIMITED
Destination Yvelines describes Palais Rose as open only on special occasions, including European Heritage Days. The residence should not be presented as an ordinarily accessible museum. Current arrangements need checking for any proposed visit. 9
33 · PALAIS VÉNITIEN
In Cannes, COGEMAD presents Palais Vénitien as a completed villa drawing on Palladio. Columns, a pediment and classical proportions frame a different historical vocabulary from Château Louis XIV. Inspiration is not an attribution to the Renaissance architect. 6
34 · RESIDENTIAL COMPOSITION
The company publishes more than 3,000 square metres of accommodation and nine suites. These are developer specifications, not measurements commissioned for this record. The suite arrangement is relevant to hosting within a private household, without making the property a nine-key hotel. 6
35 · THE WINTER GARDEN
COGEMAD describes a glazed winter garden combining a La Cornue kitchen, informal dining and seating. This is a useful domestic counterpoint to the formal architecture: a large residence still needs places for ordinary shared occupation. 6
36 · PRIVATE RECREATION
The published programme includes swimming pools, tennis, fitness, cinema and a nightclub. These are private recreational facilities. The nightclub is not treated as an independent nightlife venue, and the spa is not assigned a separate operating brand. 6
37 · A SUPPLIER CORROBORATES THE INTERIORS
Tai Ping’s project record credits COGEMAD with interior architecture at Palais Vénitien. This is a participant source outside the developer’s own website. It corroborates a defined design role, rather than merely repeating the house’s promotional name. 7
38 · MATERIAL AUTHORSHIP
Tai Ping identifies Calligram VII from its Orientations collection and Henna II from Nomad. These named carpet designs show how an interior combines the coordinating practice’s work with products authored by specialist suppliers. Attribution becomes more useful when it reaches this level of specificity. 7
39 · THE LIMITS OF SUPPLIER EVIDENCE
A supplier portfolio documents participation and selected materials. It is not an independent survey of the whole building, a valuation or proof of environmental performance. Its strength here is the narrow, identifiable contribution that can be credited accurately. 7
40 · COMPARING THE TWO PALACES
Château Louis XIV and Palais Vénitien demonstrate different historical vocabularies within one development practice. Both combine formal architecture with contemporary domestic leisure. This is repetition inside the company’s portfolio; it does not establish copying by unrelated developers. [4,6]
41 · DIAMANT SUR LE PARC
COGEMAD describes this Paris apartment as a renovated former home of Pierre Balmain in the Walter buildings. At a published 392 square metres, it represents a substantially smaller commission than either palace and a different interior vocabulary. 10
42 · DECORATION BEYOND CLASSICISM
The company presents Diamant sur le Parc with a deliberately expressive, jungle-inspired interior. Its inclusion prevents the founder’s record from becoming synonymous with one historical style. The continuity lies in the comprehensive residential offer rather than a single decorative language. 10
43 · A STATED CONCIERGE OFFER
The apartment’s page includes personalised concierge service. That is a direct hospitality connection, but the scope, staffing and contractual availability are not disclosed. The master records the offer without turning it into a verified hotel-level service guarantee. 10
44 · EIFFEL ESCAPE
COGEMAD also presents a furnished duplex of 669 square metres facing the Eiffel Tower from the Champ de Mars. The listing illustrates another urban residential product. Without a verified project chronology, it is supporting portfolio evidence rather than a dated development milestone. 11
45 · CONTINUING ESTATE CARE
COGEMAD advertises round-the-clock property management, maintenance, inspections during absence and recruitment of household staff. These services extend the relationship beyond completion. They are a stated company offer; this master has not audited delivery at individual estates. 2
46 · THE PRIVATE-HOSPITALITY CONNECTION
The strongest connection to hospitality is the organisation of a residence for occupation, guests and continuing care. This belongs beside the Library’s private-residence material. It should not erase the distinction between a private household and a professionally operated hotel.
47 · A PRACTICAL ATTRIBUTION RULE
Khashoggi’s creative leadership, COGEMAD’s team role and specialist contributions should be recorded separately. The reviewed material does not justify selecting additional individual craftspeople for People cards merely from unnamed trade lists. Named collaborators with documented authorship should be researched when the anchor houses are written.
48 · WHAT THE EVIDENCE ESTABLISHES
There is evidence of completed new construction, substantial restoration and a recurring service proposition. Independent evidence that another developer reproduced a distinctly Khashoggi model remains limited. Under the Library’s admission test, the case should be assessed on that distinction rather than on the sale headline.
49 · EDITORIAL RECOMMENDATION
Prepare Château Louis XIV as a private-residence anchor, with Palais Rose as the strongest contrasting restoration case. The People entry is defensible as a documented development-and-design candidate. Its final admission should state clearly how this record meets the Library’s test of consequential authorship.
50 · CANDOUR
Company pages dominate the project evidence and are identified as such. Published areas are not independently surveyed; an incorrect hectare-to-acre conversion has been corrected. The sale price and purchaser remain attributed historical reporting. No current title search, construction-file audit, comprehensive credit list or service inspection was undertaken. Historical inspiration is not heritage status, a private leisure facility is not a public hospitality business, and internal repetition does not prove wider influence.