At Villa Noailles during Design Parade
Every year since its inception in 2006, the Design Parade festival has rewarded young design professionals. In launching a new prize this year, Tectona is proud to become part of the festival. The origins of Villa Noailles, a renowned arts centre, date back exactly a century when Marie-Laure and Charles de Noailles commissioned architect Robert Mallet-Stevens to build an immense modernist concrete 'ocean liner ' on the higher parts of Hyères, a historic city on the French Riviera.
Tectona shows its commitment to young design
Jean-Pierre Blanc, the centre’s director, reminds us that Charles de Noailles was a connoisseur of gardens and “so it seemed logical to us to tie up with the leading brand in the outdoor sector”. In the same vein, Blanche Aloisi - de Cr.py, director of Tectona, says: “We feel that we’re on exactly the same wavelength as Villa Noailles. We share a steadfast commitment to design”. From this meeting of minds sprang the Tectona prize, which every year will award €5000 to the winner along with the possibility of seeing their project brought to market. The prize is part of Tectona’s commitment to furthering design.
“We are close to these designers and this is part of our approach in bringing together all talents, whether young or experienced. These designers have become integral to our identity and some of their creations have become classics. Sometimes a fascinating alchemy emerges and we are always receptive to the languages designers bring us” notes Blanche Aloisi - de Crépy, who admits to having been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the prototypes.
" Designers are integral to our identity "
From nine finalists, the model in acacia and ash designed by Lucien Dumas and Lou-Poko Savadogo was selected by the Design Parade jury presided by No. Duchaufour-Lawrance, who shared their reasoning: “We were impressed by the relevance of their choices related to the wood, notably local sourcing, an artisanal approach and alpine techniques. We would be very interested in seeing the outcomes of this project if further developed with and by Tectona”.
And this is how designer Christophe Delcourt (see page 25) was spotted when the first competition was held in 2000. A few years later, to mark forty years of existence, Tectona held an international competition, which was won by the Batten collection by the Thai duo Thinkk Studio. More recently, five years ago, Tectona teamed up with ECAL for the refurbishment of Mus.e Picasso, and the benches by Isabelle Baudraz were selected. The latest project concerns the refurbishment of Plateforme 10, the new cultural hub in Lausanne; following a competition, the seating was entrusted to Pierre Charpin.
Acacia and thermally modified ash
The Materra-Matang studio consists of architects and cabinetmakers and seeks to bring together furniture, architecture and craftsmanship based on a mastery of local timber. In relation to this last point, the studio said, “This project represented a challenge because there are few French timbers that withstand the elements. We wanted to look beyond exotic wood and varnished wood, which is why we decided to combine water-resistant acacia with thermally modified ash. Ash modified this way is rotproof and generally used for outdoor decking and construction. We wanted to transfer this know-how to furniture”. Using this material as a starting point the duo also incorporated a 'pincer' structure with parts joined by hemp straps and by pine tar, a traditional maritime technique.
For the duo, this prototype is a reflection, the starting point for a collection made from these three natural materials. As for the Tectona teams, they were very satisfied with this project which met the initial brief: “We had asked our finalists to come up with seating that is practicable, comfortable, stackable, sturdy and of reasonable cost. Lou-Poko and Lucien not only met these criteria but used an artisanal approach respectful of the environment”. In short, this is a win-win project and a milestone in Tectona’s ongoing investment in the contemporary design ecosystem.
