Balance

Whether it is between manufacturer and designer, audacity and commercial imperatives or materials and cost price, design is always a question of balance. The French understand this and cultivate the art of marriage and compromise. For his Makao armchair (Macé), Thibault Desombre layered wood and fabric, Julie Richoz worked with craftsmen at CIRVA (the International Center for Glass and Fine Arts) to create a vase that layers two blown glass pieces and in Burgundy, Joran Briand created a rug that evokes the ocean. Pierre Favresse, also skilled at working with glass, played with curves and gravity for his Jean clock (Super-ette). In his Simple Bridge sofa for Ligne Roset, star architect Jean Nouvel balances curves and angles. Bina Baitel undertook a prospective exercise in the Recto Verso lamp that suggests an intuitive gesture and incorporates OLED lighting. As for Antoine Phelouzat (Eno), his Quake bookshelf is a literal interpretation on the idea of balance in furniture.