Normal Studio Returns to Musée des Arts Décoratifs with New Experience ⇒ It was nearly ten years ago that Normal Studio presented the astonishing Elementary Design exhibition at the famed Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. This year, the renowned studio is set to make its return to the museum with a new experience. The idea behind this new concept is to provide a brand-new visitor experience in regards to the contemporary design section of the museum. Taking this into consideration, Jean-François Dingjian and Éloi Chafaï have categorised, questioned and staged seven decades of design masterpieces (1948-2018) and here’s a preview of what you can expect to see.

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It was in 2016 that MAD Paris commisioned Normal Studio to developed an original museological concept for the institution. Entitled “La Folle Histoire du Design”, the museum will have an outstanding design collection, comprised of furniture designs, industrial design pieces, toys, garments and graphic designs. This unique project will merge a wide range of disciplines into a singular exhibition, creating an interactive dialogue among these pieces.

To allow visitors to have a clear sense of each room, Normal Studio opted to strip the space bare of anything that wasn’t originally apart from the architecture. Continuing their elementary design approach, Normal Studio then imagined a very thin, unostentatious envelope to house the pieces. By removing walls and opening up the windows again, the duo allowed natural light to flow back into the building and restore the breath-taking vistas of the city – the Louvre, the Rue de Rivoli, the Tuileries Garden. The city enters the building and becomes an integral part of the visitor’s experience.

The scenography consists of simple elements: raised platforms, pedestals, stelas, cabinets. A series of structures, piled and misaligned, gives the illusion of a haphazard set, when in fact everything is positioned according to a predefined grid. In the aisles that run along the Rohan wing, each alcove is furnished with the same line of furniture, using the same matrix, but organized differently depending on the pieces.

This practical approach easily accommodates a variety of different works and offers a perspective that is almost scientific in nature, a cross-disciplinary and dynamic vision of the collections. The material chosen for the elements is a black textured plywood subverted from its original purpose – flooring for heavy transport vehicles.

In the larger halls of the Pavillon de Marsan, Normal Studio brought structure by creating “hyper-furniture”. Located in the heart of the building, the great library, inspired by metal storage racks and, houses on several floors a selection of seats from a period ranging from the post-war era to today. Visitors are invited to amble around (sometimes under) the pieces, displayed side by side to provide an unbiased overview of this selection of momentous designs.

Lastly, the space also features a new seat and light, both designed by Normal Studio specifically for this project. The seat, an enigmatic figure shaped from perforated sheet metal coated in black plastic, positioned in different locations around the section helps create a sense of rhythm. The light was developed in collaboration with French lighting manufacturer Sammode. The iconic industrial light tube is presented in black, complemented with a decorative guard specially designed for the museum.

See Also:

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Source: MAD Paris