5 minute read
French Connections - Noe
Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance
Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance is a French designer working across a wide range of disciplines and materials with a narrative deeply rooted in nature. His approach to design celebrates the coming together of heritage, materials, industrial design, natural forms and fine craftsmanship.
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A Sculptor by Design
orn in the south of France in 1974, he followed the footsteps of his father, with an academic training in sculpture from the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués et des Métiers d’Art, followed by a degree in furniture design from the renowned Les Arts Décoratifs. Fuelled by a rich creative background, Noé approaches design with an instinct and sensibility that gives form to projects ranging from architecture to furniture, interiors and bespoke, limited edition collections. His sculptural work showcases a respect for the past, combined with a simplicity of line and an honest desire to create pieces that last.
He has designed for industry leaders such as Saint Louis, Hermès, Ligne Roset, Cinna, Ceccotti collezioni, Bernhardt Design, Sèvres, Mobilier National, Dior, Baccarat, La Chance, Petite Friture, Zanotta, Tacchini, ZaoZuo, Kundalini, Neal Feay, as well as many exhibitions and cultural institutions.
His architectural spaces include boutiques for Montblanc, Air France and SFL business lounges #Cloud Business Center lounges, the interior of the Ciel de Paris and Sketch in London, as well as private residences around the globe.
What brings you to Lisbon?
When I arrived in Paris for my studies, I said that I would only stay a few years there. I stayed for more than 20 years. Paris has a fantastic energy which can be a booster, but it is also really demanding, and it can take you away from your priorities. The moments that I was enjoying the most were when I was leaving the city to go to my countryside house near to the North Sea. I grew up in Brittany so I need the presence of the sea, its iodine smell, the movement of the waves, the horizon.
I was working worldwide, without touching the ground. I needed to reconnect with my close environment, nature, and take time to appreciate human relations. I had the sensation that Portugal could offer this kind of connection due to its size and its attachment to the land. The Portuguese I have met have a great sense of what is around them, a sense of reality. In good and bad ways as sometimes, it can stop you in your dreams but when we speak about grounded projects, Portugal is beautiful for this.
Have you always been interested in design and creation?
I grew up in a creative family. I did not know my father, but he was a sculptor. And my mother was teaching art at school. She was always showing me some art. I remember visiting some artisans on the road as every summer when we were going around with her 2CV car.
Can you pinpoint key turning points in your life that put you on your path?
I decided to be a designer when I was 13 years old. I didn’t have many connections with design from Brittany, but I
discovered the work of Philippe Starck. Then, my stepfather (who is English) arrived at home with an article on Ron Arad, when he was doing some crazy sculpture work. This field of expression was a great way to continue in my father’s footsteps – sculpture, while doing design.
What’s it like being an entrepreneur ‘abroad’?
Made in Situ is a project I have had for a long time in the back of my mind, but I felt that Portugal was the place where it could become reality. I don’t feel like an entrepreneur. Made In Situ is a project, a platform, not a brand. It allows us to be free in the creative process.
How did the idea to use burnt cork come to you?
While moving to Portugal, I drove through the dramatic fires of summer 2017. This visceral experience had a lasting effect on me. It took more than two years to develop the collection, from the raw material – the cork blocks – to the shaping of the pieces.
The intention of designing a collection with charred cork first emerged in Faro, Algarve in October 2018 while visiting a family company specialising in cork block making named NF Cork. The first challenge was to develop the custommade ‘gradient’ blocks with NF Cork: a gradient composition of granules revealing burnt cork from forest fires.
What inspires you?
The landscapes, nature in all its senses, from an ecosystem to the physical beauty of it. And all the materials coming from it, and the men and women who are working close to it.
Any words of wisdom? Life motto?
Take the risk of freedom.
How is everyday life in Lisbon?
I love it, it is the perfect scale, and depending on where you are, everything is so local. It’s an attractive city but it is also a victim of its success. Too many projects going on, the explosion of real estate, due to a lot of foreign investments. Before going to Lisbon, I was targeting Barcelona, but it has been damaged by tourism. Now this is happening in Lisbon. The development tourism attracts so many people who are not trying to understand anything about where they are. And, unfortunately, a lot of small businesses around this are comforting them in this position.
Any secret places to recommend?
Certainly not! I learned with the time that spoiling secret spots is the worst thing to do, even more now with the Instagram communities. I almost blame the ones who are showing their secret spots, it killed so many amazing gems.
Lisbon has changed so much in the last couple of years. Are your reasons for coming here still there?
Yes, whatever happens, Portugal is resilient, and there is still space for evolution. And the countryside of Portugal is deserted. Perhaps with time, some people will come back to these small villages that have been almost abandoned to recreate a positive ecosystem around.
What’s next?
The roads of Portugal and the artisans I met, reminded me in so many ways of the ones I used to travel and meet in other countries, like France or Italy. I want to open Made in Situ to some other environments.
Expat or a local?
I’m a world citizen, more than ever I don’t feel either one or the other wherever I am.
Follow Noe @noeduchaufourlawrance
