Cogitech‘s project to bring together industry and craftsmanship and use the best of both production methods opens up new horizons for the decorative arts. Based in Dijon (France), this laboratory-workshop, which has been certified as a Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (Living Heritage Company), has been designing, developing and manufacturing exceptional objects for over 20 years. Designers and artists such as Hella Jongerius, Constance Guisset, Martin Szekely, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, RDAI and Xavier Veilhan have all called on Cogitech’s expertise.

Cogitech’s expertise is based on a precise knowledge of a wide range of materials: wood, carbon fibre, plaster and concrete, hemp concrete, resin and acrylic glass. As part of the company, Studio Cogitech, driven by designers, prototypists, engineers, technicians and craftsmen, sets out to open up new avenues for creation by questioning materials and techniques and conducting exploratory researches. Since 2020, Manufacture XXI, a furniture manufacturer part of the company, has been producing and distributing objects that demonstrate all these skills.

Manufacture XXI is a genuine 21st century factory, using materials and techniques developed by Cogitech to design unique objects in a style they describe as “slow-brutalism”. With raw materials as the starting point and an exclusive preference for cold process techniques (moulding, hand-coating, air-drying), which are smoother and less energy-consuming, Manufacture XXI is developing several small series of objects, including the Noda lamps, recently presented at the Maison & Objet fair (January 2024).

At first glance, you might think you’re looking at concrete or raw earth and glazed ceramic, but in reality, Noda lamps are made from an eco-responsible composite material – recycled cellulose with a mineral additive, mass-dyed with natural pigments and cold-moulded. The result is stunning. A European patent has been filed for this material, and R&D is currently in progress to develop an application for it in architectural panels. The design of the lamps adopts an organic line for a simple, refreshing result.

Cogitech and Manufacture XXI are the ideal workshop-laboratory for architects and designers who want to get back to making things while playing chemists.

---

Visit www.cogitech.fr to find out more about the studio and www.manufacture21.fr to browse the furnitures’ catalogue.

by Guillaume Ackel

_ _ _