We catch up with French designer Mathieu Lehanneur, creator of the Paris 2024 Olympic torch, as he moves into a new HQ and refocuses his design studio
With the unveiling of his latest endeavour, a gleaming new HQ in Paris’ Ivry-sur-Seine neighbourhood, Lehanneur plans to narrow his focus and build up his practice as an independent brand in its own right. Lehanneur and his team moved into the former electricity station – an 800 sq m, two-storey, gabled roof brick building that more closely resembles a schoolhouse than an industrial plant – nearly a year ago after a months-long hunt for a more spacious headquarters.
When searching for a new space, Lehanneur wanted somewhere that would foster the firm’s new way of working; after a fruitful career spent collaborating with blue chip companies and high-end galleries, Lehanneur had decided it was time to break course. Although he loved the challenges associated with client work, the clash of priorities between stakeholders often left him dissatisfied.
The solution? To bring it all in-house. His studio would take on fewer new commissions, instead developing and producing everything themselves. ‘When you work with a brand or gallery, you have no contact with the final client, who will eventually live with the object,’ he says. ‘And I need that connection because I learn so much from it.’
Just outside Lehanneur’s new office door sits a dedicated gallery space, which hosts several of his recent furniture projects, while down a short set of stairs is a material library and workspace. There, he can work with clients to customise commissions, or simply just bounce around new ideas with the team.
At the moment, they are playing with a new lighting system, which pairs a frosted blown-glass bulb with a rod wrapped in sea green decorative passementerie cord. Not for a particular project, Lehanneur says, just to experiment. ‘Being autonomous gives you the freedom to go where you want with your business,’ he muses. ‘You have to be ready for failures, but you also have to be ready for potential success.
Danmark Seneste Nyt, Danmark Overskrifter
Similar News:Du kan også læse nyheder, der ligner denne, som vi har indsamlet fra andre nyhedskilder.
Inside the Huddle season preview: Interviews with Patrick Mahomes, Justin Jefferson, Brock Purdy and moreIn a special edition of Inside the Huddle, Neil Reynolds speaks to some of the biggest names from around the league ahead of the start of the 2023 season.
Læs mere »
First look inside revamped HMV in the Arndale - and it's even got a stageThe store has been given a facelift
Læs mere »