Design takes over public spaces
Published on 30 September 2024
Paris Design Week offers its visitors a series of unprecedented exhibitions in cooperation with major cultural institutions. Today’s big names were invited to take over historic venues.
Thus, British designer Paul Cocksedge enhanced the Orangerie and gardens of the Hôtel de Sully on Place des Vosges with his conceptual installation involving mirrors. The courtyard of the Hôtel de la Marine on Place de la Concorde hosted an offbeat version of a canopy bed by Studio Uchronia. A few steps away, a hammock made from carved wooden slats, created by cabinetmaker and artist Pierre Renart, had been specially designed to interact with the “diamond-shaped” glass dome over the Cour de l'Intendant. These open-air events offered an opportunity to reflect on climate change. Dozens of young designers revealed their solutions for new street furniture in the courtyard of the Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris (Historical Library of the City of Paris) alongside concepts from the timber industry (Fibois). At the National Archives, Lucas Huillet and Alexandre Helwani mixed fragrances with mist in an installation that could cool down this environment, which was visited by 12,000 people. Lastly, thousands of fans fell in love with the little, self-sufficient wooden house designed by Studio 5•5 in partnership with Muji. It was a real statement encouraging us to take a fresh look at our consumption habits. Placed in the courtyard of the Hôtel d’Albret, it will undoubtedly find itself back in a forest, one day…
