patrick jouin at centre pompidou

l to r: pottery chaud froid, pastapot for alessi, chair thalya for kartell, public toilets of paris, ‘tarti, nutella’ for ferrero

opening tommorow at the centre pompidou, paris is ‘patrick jouin – carnets et recits de design’ exhibition. for the show the french designer selected some twenty projects illustrative of the diversity and eclecticism that characterise the work of him and his agency he founded 10 years ago, presenting materials that instantiate and explain the research and development process for each work.

born in 1967, patrick jouin is one of the major actors in contemporary design in france and across the world. since 1999, his paris agency has distinguished itself by the diversity of its practice: architecture, interior design and exhibition design as well as product and furniture design ranging from street furniture to high-quality artisanal productions.

l to r: nightcove for zyken, armchair jules verne D3 limited edition, tablewares evol and wave for gien

l to r: public toilets of paris, chair thalya for kartell, pastapot for alessi, cutlery zermatt for puiforcat

l to r: ‘tarti, nutella’ for ferrero, champagen bucket for G.H. MUMM, ‘C2 solid, self edition’

‘flower’ MGX by materialise

the design of the exhibition aims to immerse the visitor in the living history of the agency’s projects. it combines the real with the virtual to bring out the intersecting but distinctive viewpoints of designer, manufacturer and end-user.

in the centre of the room is a partition on which is screened a film by alain fleischer, shot within the exhibition. in it, patrick jouin introduces himself, his colleagues, and others involved in the design process, among them sleep specialist prof. damien léger and chef alain ducasse. the film offers an original and lively take on the stories and the development work on the objects displayed nearby, a personal introduction to the pieces that visitors will then be able to look at in more detail.

the second element takes the form of a materials library, half-real, half-virtual, whose shelves rehearse the developmental history of each object (through materials samples, components, mock-ups, prototypes, documentation etc.), thus offering an overview of the agency’s design process and an insight into the wide ranging nature of the researches required. this display begins outside the room, within the space of the museum itself.