metal tanks house reimagined domestic spaces in fondation martell’s ‘places to be’ exhibition

from june 25, 2020, to january 2, 2022, fondation d’entreprise martell presents ‘places to be’, an immersive exhibition that invites 14 international designers to each imagine a room in a house composed of 11 huge metallic tanks. the enigmatic mission takes its cues from the famous board game ‘clue’, where each room becomes part of a unique atmosphere. participating designers, which include wendy andreu, porky hefer, and matali crasset, imagined a fully-formed environment in their respective spaces, while the only information they had ahead of time was the dimensions of their space.

bedroom by ornaghi & prestinari

all images © c.k. mariot

the immersive exhibition at fondation d’entreprise martell brings together wendy andreu, clément brazille, matali crasset, jenny feal, porky hefer, anima ona, ornaghi & prestinari, jerszy seymour, céline thibault & géraud pellottiero, and yuan yuan. imagined by nathalie viot, director of the foundation, developed by laurent geoffroy, and produced by the teams from the charentaise company chalvignac, the scenography of ‘places to be’ is made up of gigantic circular stainless steel tanks. each tank houses a different room of a house, while they are all connected to one another through cut-outs in the partitions. unknown to each other until the first day of assembling their work, participating designers imagined spaces that evoke each individual’s aesthetic universe.bedroom by ornaghi & prestinari

‘places to be’, which marks the first group exhibition at fondation d’entreprise martell, intends to reposition design as a quotidian functional environment rather than as a group of museum-worthy works. participating designers were asked to create livable but unprecedented domestic interiors complete with furniture and objects which visitors would be able to use (current health constraints do not allow this use in the first instance). each space consists of a circular metal tank, varying from 2.5 to 3.5 meters in height and two to five openings.bathroom by jerszy seymour

dancefloor by wendy andreuprojection roomguest room – ‘humanest’ by porky hefer

exhibition viewlobby by clément brazilleinstallation by yuan yuan (games room)

kitchen by matali crasset kitchen by matali crasset

exhibition view verandah by céline thibault & géraud pellottiero

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project info:

name: places to be

organization: fondation d’entreprise martell

participating designers: wendy andreu, clément brazille, matali crasset, jenny feal, porky hefer, anima ona, ornaghi & prestinari, jerszy seymour, céline thibault & géraud pellottiero, yuan yuan

duration: june 25 2020 – january 2 2022

opening days & hours: thursday to saturday from 2PM to 8PM, sunday from 11AM to 5PM

location: 16 avenue paul firino martell 16100 cognac, france

admission: free entry