Architecture, plastic arts, science and also design! 'A'A' present a new section dedicated to the designers and manufacturers who, every day, design and develop new solutions for our interiors. Here is a selection of new ingenious and poetic objects which, each in their own way, forge the history of contemporary design...

Written by Guillaume Ackel

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IN THE BOLD FAMILY… EXTRA BOLD BY BIG-GAME FOR MOUSTACHE

In 2009, the Swiss designers of Big-Game studio presented the Bold chair with Moustache. The composition is very clear: two interlocking metal tubes, inflated with a thick polyurethane foam, covered with a removable textile sock available in almost 40 colours. Simplicity (apparent, the assembly technique is much more complex than it seems), efficiency and multiplicity, an icon of contemporary design was born.
Quickly becoming the best seller of the house, the Bold chair is making little ones: the bench in 2014, the stool in 2019, and in this September 2021, the armchair! The “bold” which refers to the typographic vocabulary becomes “extra-bold”, the shape is bolder, more sculptural, and the line remains very graphic.
www.moustache.fr

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TABLE ON STILTS, NII BY ATELIERS 2/3/4/ FOR NOMA

“NOMA is the next generation of furniture, French and eco-responsible”, it is how Guillaume Galloy and Bruce Ribay define the company they created together. On the catalogue, each piece proudly displays the percentage of recycled materials it contains. The Arca console in travertine designed by RDAI (2020), for example, contains 88.1% recycled materials. In September 2021, at the Maison&Objet fair, NOMA revealed the Nii table designed by Ateliers 2/3/4/. Manufactured in partnership with the Emmaüs workshops, it is made up of 95% recycled wood – an entire beech trunk that had been stored with a wood seller for 25 years and was destined for destruction.
As for the design, the strength of the design lies in the subtle assembly of the legs and the two trays: large, thin wooden rods that pierce, in places, two large trays. Although the rods appear to be straight and uninterrupted, they are in fact slightly cut to reduce the diameter in order to create the bearings necessary to support the first tray and the second. The space created between the two trays allows the objects on the upper tray to disappear; the table can thus juggle from one function to another: working, eating, entertaining, drawing, playing.
www.noma-editions.com

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GAME OF BALANCE, DUNE BY LES BEAUX JOURS ARCHITECTURES FOR CAP D’ARSÈNE

When we talk about the Cap d’Arsène house, founded in 2017 by Laurent Soulet, we think of beach sheets that are reminiscent of holidays, with family and friends, and the spirit of seaside resorts. The brand also wants to bring this gentle way of life into the home and is therefore offering furniture designed in collaboration with the Beaux Jours Architectures agency.
A table and a stool are the first pieces in the Dune collection. Entirely made in France, in solid oak or ash, thanks to the expert hands of Burgundian craftsmen, these two objects express a lot in the delicacy of their forms and the accuracy of their compositions. They are made up of modules with geometrically primitive shapes – rounds, cones, half-spheres, cobblestones, tubes – which lean against each other and are superimposed in a game of balance to form an ensemble of great lightness.
Between the wooden cubes that children play with and the simplicity of the geometric forms cherished by the Bauhaus, the Dune table and stool tell us the story we want to hear.
www.capdarsene.com

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CALM AND PLEASURE, GIRO SOFT BY ALFREDO HÄBERLI FOR ANDREU WORLD

Alfredo Häberli, an Argentinian designer living in Switzerland, is a prolific collaborator, juggling between the very small scale – shoes for Camper or jewellery for Biegel – and the design of spaces – showrooms for Kvadrat textiles or the 60 rooms of the 25hours Hotel in Zurich. When he talks about his work, one quickly notices that sensitivity is at the heart of everything: he confesses that he only wants to work with people he likes, explains that a well thought-out space should bring (re)comfort and tranquillity, and says that he enjoys designing objects for children because their appreciation is intuitive and sincere.
This sensitivity is reflected in the modular sofa system he is presenting for the Spanish company Andreu World. Made up of a series of modules with organic and comfortable, even cosy, curves, the Giro Soft system brings softness, as its name suggests, to waiting or relaxation areas in office spaces.
www.andreuworld.com

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IN VITRO VERITAS, IN VITRO BY PHILIPPE STARCK FOR FLOS

Science and technology are two strong markers of designer Philippe Starck’s aesthetic. The A.I. chair designed by interaction with the artificial intelligence of the Autodesk software for Kartell or the housing module imagined for the Axiom Space station are two eloquent examples. For the Italian company Flos, Philippe Starck has designed the In Vitro lamp. It is a glass capsule – like a test tube – in which a soft light seems to float. Thanks to a light diode hidden inside the head of the lantern, the light source disappears and the scientific experiment becomes almost magical. A coloured aluminium frame forms the body of the lamp. Fully rechargeable with a micro USB-C cable and transportable with a flexible silicone cord, this lantern is designed for outdoor use but will also fit perfectly indoors.
Discover the world of Philippe Starck and his thoughts on the habitat in issue 444 of L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, for which the designer was guest editor.
www.flos.com

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