Hasta La Ideas

Architect Jean Nouvel has completed a design showroom in Montpellier where furniture and homewares are caged behind chain link fencing.

A four-storey atrium divides the split-level building into two halves, with staircases that criss-cross from side to side.

A bookshop occupies the ground floor, alongside a restaurant furnished with stacking metal chairs that Nouvel designed especially.

The facade of the building is embellished with a series of words, which name activities that might take place in the home.

As the fifth RBC Design Centre to open in France, the Montpellier store was initiated by brand founder Franck Argentin and is due to be inaugurated later this month.

Read more about the chair designed by Nouvel for the showroom in our earlier story.

See all our stories about Jean Nouvel »

Here’s some information from Ateliers Jean Nouvel:

RBC Design Centre – Montpellier

Designed by Jean Nouvel and initiated by Franck Argentin, founder of RBC, RBC Design Centre is the ultimate place dedicated to design.

This amazing building of 9 levels, is a 2 000 m2 art of living destination with no equivalence in Europe in its architecture and philosophy.

RBC Design Centre celebrates a global design culture that goes from furniture pieces, objects, books to exhibitions and food.

Synthesis of RBC’s know-how, leading player in the french design retail, RBC Design Centre presents the best international brands of furniture, lighting, kitchen and bathroom design (Alias, Artemide, Arper, B*B ITALIA, Belux, Cappellini, Cassina, Emu, Fantoni, Flos, Fontana Arte, Foscarini, Knoll, Antonio Luppi, Magis, MDF, Muuto, Poliform, Poltrona Frau, Varenna, Vitra…), taken care of by a great architecture and design passionate professionals’ team who is entirely dedicated to the best indoor and outdoor solutions for better living. To support even better people’s needs, a lightnig designer position has been created so that lighting becomes a true wellness source in function as well as in design.

RBC Design Centre also features a 120 m2 Kartell shop and a 150 m2 shop in shop dedicated to smaller objects and supporting international and french young design editors such as Edition sous Etiquette, Atelier d’Exercices, Chilewich, Eno…

Positioned as a cultural destination, RBC Design Centre will also held a number of design exhibitions, together with book signatures in its amazing library of 4000 books on architecture, design and food.

The 70 seat restaurant – MIA by Pascal Sanchez, with a large 120 seat terrace has just opened. Chef Pascal Sanchez has worked more than 15 years with famous Pierre Gagnaire, first at its parisian place and further on at Sketch (London) and Twist (Mandarin Oriental-Las Vegas). From those years he takes with him the love of a very modern mix of good local food, art and design. Outdoor tables and chairs have been specially designed by Jean Nouvel and edited by EMU and tableware is 100% Alessi.

The building designed by Jean Nouvel can be first seen as a simple box, in a very neutral grey, enhanced by key words in white: CREATE – DREAM– READ – COOK – LIGHT – LIVE

Once you enter, the outside opacity gives place to transparency. The deep unique grey tone of the building is a perfect scene for the strong museum like set ups of the furniture pieces.

Distributed on eight levels on both sides of a central major hole, protected by a stainless stitch, they are colors and life of the place, inviting to roam from a visual request to the other one.

This spectacular “furniture wardrobe”, cut by stairs that link levels, looks inspired by mathematician Escher’s drawings.

The building is situated in Port Marianne, a brand new contemporary area in Montpellier where Jean Nouvel has also designed the town hall.

The post RBC Design Centre Montpellier
by Jean Nouvel appeared first on Dezeen.

Milan 2012: these stacking metal chairs were created by French architect Jean Nouvel for the restaurant of the RBC Design Centre that his studio have designed in Montpellier, due to open next month, and they’re now in production with Italian brand Emu.

Flat metal bars make up the legs, backrest and arms of chairs, which come in white, red, grey and black. They stack and are weighted so they can easily be hooked over the edge of tables when cleaning the floor.

Launched at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in April, the collection shares the restaurant’s name, MIA, and comprises stacking chairs, armchairs, benches, high stools and two tables.

See all our stories about Jean Nouvel here.

The Salone Internazionale del Mobile took place from 17 to 22 April. See all our stories about Milan 2012 here, plus photos on Facebook and Pinterest.

Here’s some more information from Emu:

Jean Nouvel designs MIA, the new collection with a strong, happy character.

The new MIA collection, designed by Jean Nouvel, is a crystal-clear example of the spirit EMU brings to placing technological development at the top of its priority list, in an atmosphere buzzing with productive creativity. The whole concept stems from the RBC Design Centre in Montpellier, where three important elements were brought together: design, production and distribution. Frank Argentin, founder of RBC and a personal friend of Jean Nouvel, commissioned the Montpellier showroom to the French architect and designer with the aim of creating a venue that was to act as an authentic design manifesto, a showcase able to offer visitors a trip through the world of prestige furnishings. With this mission in mind, it was of the essence that the common areas be furnished with particular care; hence Frank Argentin’s decision to entrust the furnishing project for the Design Centre’s restaurant (also called MIA) to Jean Nouvel and to Emu, a company with years of sound experience in the contract sector, world leader in metalworking and trusted supplier of RBC. From the collaboration of these three outstanding names sprang the new MIA collection, with a design revolving around the concept of furnishings that make their mark and are so instantly recognisable the world over as to become true urban icons, thanks not only to the Emu brand name but to the efforts of the extraordinary work group the company is part of.

Simple, clean-cut lines are the hallmarks of these seats and tables, whose hard-wearing, practical qualities provide the perfect response to a wide range of requirements to suit all tastes. MIA is designed and certified as an outdoor product, but is also perfectly suitable for use indoors, not only in homes, but also in design or history museums, as well as the top-of-the-range hotel and street contract segment. Considering the needs of these different sectors, the new collection has been designed to guarantee maximum functionality: thanks to the lightweight frame and the shape of the seats and arms, the chairs can easily and practically be placed on top of the table, thus making tidying up and cleaning operations easier.

The collection will be composed of stackable seats featuring a distinctive, skilful combination of aluminium and metal, available with and without arms, as well as armchairs, a high stool, a bench and two tables, one round and one square, with fold-down metal and laminate tops and featuring a distinctive geometric base composed of four rectangular-shaped tubes. Made in Italy throughout, MIA is available in white, red, grey and black, and will be complemented with coordinated cushions suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.



Dezeen Screen: in this movie filmed by Dezeen at the Telling Tales exhibition at the Ligne Roset Westend showroom, central London owner of Ligne Roset Robert Hasty talks about pieces by Jean Nouvel and Inga Sempé. Watch the movie »

Cologne 2011: more from Jean Nouvel for Ligne Roset at imm cologne, this time the reissue of the French designer’s Saint James collection (above) and Simple Bridge (below).

Saint James was originally designed by Nouvel for a restaurant, where the elasticated covers over the foam pads were changed for each new customer.

The collection includes a chair with or without arms and a pouf.

The Simple Bridge was originally part of Nouvel’s Elémentaire collection, now reissued as a sofa, armchair and footstool, characterised by the curved shape cut away from both arms and footstool.

See also: Simplissimo by Jean Nouvel for Ligne Roset at imm cologne.

More about Jean Nouvel on Dezeen »
More about Ligne Roset on Dezeen »
More coverage of Cologne 2011 »

imm Cologne takes place 18-23 January 2011. See all our coverage of the event »

Once again we’ve teamed up with imm Cologne to hold a free series of Dezeentalks at [D3] Design Talents. More details »

See films of all the Dezeentalks at last year’s fair here.

Here are some more details from Ligne Roset:

Saint James

CONCEPT. “This chair was originally designed for an extremely luxurious restaurant, with a white cotton cover which was changed for each new customer. Even so it had great simplicity whilst expressing with its very form the idea of great comfort, like an invitation to sit down and eat well. It was especially designed for this location, but it is the right of every piece of furniture to go wherever it wishes. Its friendly character has always ensured that it is viewed with a certain amount of humour. Its spirit is this openness, this declared fluidity. Contemporary techniques have enabled us to make gains in terms of both comfort and lightness. Just like a construction set, the elements of the armchair are separate: the curved metal stems link four ‘bubbles’ with removable covers.” Jean Nouvel

AESTHETICS

A devotee of unembellished design, Jean Nouvel has reduced the elements of the structure (feet, arm supports, junction of seat-back) to their most simple expression in order to offer, by contrast, generous, highly welcoming proportions in the case of those areas which come into contact with the body (seat and back cushions, armrests).

The Saint-James seating combines simple and very light lines of steel, elegantly curved, with the sensual fullness of the seat, back or arm cushions. Its threadlike, spidery appearance in no way precludes excellent comfort.

Simple Bridge

CONCEPT

“This seat had in the Elémentaire collection, which was originally produced by Ligne Roset. Elementarity has always been, for me, a rather anti-design position. I designed this armchair for the centre des congrès de Tours in the early 90’s. To say the least: now, I want THIS armchair – because the seating of the 1930’s to 70’s, when put into the architecture of the 1990s, is like quotations which have been displaced. I tried to make a design with no stylistic effect in and of itself, with just a little ergonomy and comfort. This armchair should be capable of adapting to all situations. One should rethink them constantly, taking account of the locations into which they will have to fit. So it could be higher, lower, wider, the essential element being that its materials and proportions remain strict and correct.” Jean Nouvel

AESTHETICS

It was clearly the designer’s intention to create a lucid, transparent piece which marks a return to traditional geometric forms: minimalism as a means of achieving perfection in terms of form. On the bridge, a quasi-cube around 65 cm2, a sweeping curve cuts across the seat and front edge of the arms to optimise the comfort and the harmonious balance of proportions.

Simple Bridge reinvents the‘club’, a comfortable, masculine chair, but with an extreme purification in terms of form.The design of the curve of the arms is sufficient to bring a certain dynamism to the overall piece.

And yet, the apparent simplicity of Simple Bridge conceals the very skills necessary to its execution: there can be no approximations in terms of cutting, sewing or upholstery if the severe edges of the seat are to remain perfectly straight.

Finally, to remain true to its designer’s desire for simplicity, Simple Bridge demands, as a priority, a timeless covering : a smooth hide or a black, white or grey polyurethane-coated fabric.

See also:

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Ploum by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec for Ligne Roset	Ruché by Inga Sempé for Ligne Roset	More about Jean Nouvel

Photographer Philippe Ruault has sent us his photographs of the newly-completed 100 11th Avenue by French architect Jean Nouvel, an apartment block in Chelsea, New York, with every glass panel of the curtain wall tilted at a different angle. (more…)