jakob + macfarlane studio in paris, france (above) brendan macfarlane in front of images of ‘orange cube’ image © designboom

 

 

 

designboom met up with  jakob + macfarlane (dominique jakob, brendan mcfarlane) at their studio in paris on a recent trip to the city. located on the right back of the french capital, the four-storey courtyard building retains a large portion of its original character with interspersed structural columns punctuating the simply organized work space. mainly finished in white, the office maintains a casual and humble atmosphere, with walls marked over time with holes from pin-ups of drawings and panels.

with a broad net of interest and expertise – architecture, technology, landscape, topography, archeology – the firm’s work explores all facets of their design from form to concept to fabrication. projects tend not to fall into a specific aesthetic category but instead focus on creating an environment that responds and engages in dialogue with its inhabitants. since their first realized project in 1998, the french duo has created a great number of designs ranging from a retrofit project for a bookstore to the first-place competition win of ‘docks de paris’.

jakob + macfarlane studio visit ‘orange cube’ by jakob + macfarlane in lyon, france (2011) image © roland halbe

jakob + macfarlane studio visit facade image courtesy RBC

jakob + macfarlane studio visit view of the void from an outdoor terrace space image © roland halbe to see more images of the ‘orange cube’ and its interior, click here

jakob + macfarlane studio visit image © designboom

jakob + macfarlane studio visit image © designboom

jakob + macfarlane studio visit study models of ‘t(h)ree’, a series of shelving units (2003) image © designboom

jakob + macfarlane studio visit ‘florence loewy bookshop’ by jakob + macfarlane in paris (2001) image © jakob + macfarlane

jakob + macfarlane studio visit images © jakob + macfarlane

jakob + macfarlane studio visit image © jakob + macfarlane

jakob + macfarlane studio visit image © designboom

jakob + macfarlane studio visit image © designboom

jakob + macfarlane studio visit finished and process shots of previous projects image © designboom

jakob + macfarlane studio visit ‘georges’ by jakob + macfarlane in paris, france (2000) image © jakob + macfarlane, nicolas borel

jakob + macfarlane studio visit interior forms image © jakob + macfarlane, nicolas borel

jakob + macfarlane studio visit image © jakob + macfarlane, nicolas borel to see more images and drawings of the project, click here

jakob + macfarlane studio visit model of ‘blown data house’ (2007) image © designboom

jakob + macfarlane studio visit ‘docks en seine’ by jakob + macfarlane in paris, france (2008) image © jakob + macfarlane, nicolas borel

jakob + macfarlane studio visit (left) interior stairs images © jakob + macfarlane, nicolas borel (right) exterior detail of skin images © paul raftery

jakob + macfarlane studio visit view to the water images © paul raftery

jakob + macfarlane studio visit extruding volumes over the dock images © paul raftery

jakob + macfarlane studio visit exhibition space as seen from the outside images © paul raftery

jakob + macfarlane studio visit rooftop space image © jakob + macfarlane, nicolas borel to find out more about the project, click here

jakob + macfarlane studio visit image © designboom

jakob + macfarlane studio visit image © designboom

jakob + macfarlane studio visit ‘FRAC center’ by jakob + macfarlane in orléans (2011) image © jakob + macfarlane

jakob + macfarlane studio visit rendered view of the plaza image © jakob + macfarlane

jakob + macfarlane studio visit rendered interior view image © jakob + macfarlane

jakob + macfarlane studio visit 3D model image © jakob + macfarlane

jakob + macfarlane studio visit wireframe model of ‘FRAC center’ image © designboom

jakob + macfarlane studio visit physical models of ‘harold (100 logements sociaux pla et pli)’ image © designboom

jakob + macfarlane studio visit ‘harold (100 logements sociaux pla et pli)’ by jakob + macfarlane’ in paris (2008) image © jakob + macfarlane, james ewing

jakob + macfarlane studio visit facade form image © jakob + macfarlane, nicolas borel

jakob + macfarlane studio visit landscaping image © jakob + macfarlane, nicolas borel

jakob + macfarlane studio visit private meeting room image © designboom

jakob + macfarlane studio visit brendan macfarlane portrait © designboom