Les Trophées du Meuble : "Récompenser les savoir-faire, et de le faire savoir"

Longtemps privilégié pour son élégance et sa sobriété, le noir mat s'impose aujourd'hui comme une finition à part entière dans l'univers de la cuisine. Une tendance dont Elica s'empare à travers deux propositions complémentaires : Noir Mat et Raw. Pensées comme un fil conducteur esthétique, ces dernières habillent différentes typologies de produits, des hottes aux fours, jusqu'à sa lampe Luna, permettant de créer une continuité visuelle entre les équipements. Une approche qui accompagne l'évolution de la cuisine, désormais envisagée comme une véritable pièce de vie, où les équipements techniques participent pleinement à l'aménagement intérieur.

Raw, la matière au service de l'usage

Au-delà de ses qualités esthétiques, le noir mat est devenu un terrain d'innovation pour Elica. Avec Raw, la marque développe une finition en verre noir mat qui associe recherche sur les matériaux et praticité. Appliquée notamment aux plaques aspirantes NikolaTesla, aux plaques à induction et au système de cuisson Lhov, cette finition se distingue par son aspect texturé et ses propriétés techniques. Conçue pour répondre aux contraintes d'une utilisation quotidienne, Raw sophistiquée facilite grandement le nettoyage et l'entretien : sa surface résistante contre les rayures causées par casseroles et ustensiles et les traces de doigts. La surface Noir Mat offre également une simplicité de nettoyage au quotidien.

À travers Noir Mat et Raw, Elica dépasse ainsi la simple question de la couleur pour envisager la finition comme un véritable élément de conception de la cuisine. Une manière de repenser les équipements, où la matière ne se contente plus d'habiller l'objet, mais participe pleinement à son usage et à son identité.

Founded in 1994 in Irun, in the Spanish Basque Country, Didheya has built its expertise around working with stainless steel. Initially specializing in hardware and architectural accessories, the brand gradually diversified into the transport sector, notably developing equipment for trains, subways, and buses. Today, it aims to apply this industrial expertise to furniture through Urban Furniture, a line conceived in collaboration with Iratzoki Studio that marks a new stage in its development.

Five collections at the crossroads of design and industry

The result of a long-standing relationship between Didheya and Basque designer Jean-Louis Iratzoki, this collaboration is unveiled through five collections titled Hanka, Hodi, Aroa, Ingude, and Luze. Beyond the design of the pieces, the project is based on a shared reflection on materials, manufacturing processes, and usage, with the aim of offering furniture that is functional, durable, and capable of integrating into various environments.

Stainless steel, Didheya's material of choice, serves as the common thread throughout the collections, sometimes combined with solid wood, concrete, or stone. "Our work focused on stainless steel, with an opening toward outdoor furniture intended for both public and private spaces. We sought to design durable, resistant, easy-to-maintain, and environmentally friendly products,"explains the designer.

Initially conceived for outdoor use, these collections stand out for their versatility and the diversity of their finishes, allowing them to also find their place in interior spaces. From urban squares to university campuses and hotel common areas, they demonstrate a desire to go beyond the mere function of furniture to make it an integral part of the architecture of a space.

Captions: left, Ingude collection, design: Iratzoki Studio © Didheya / right: Hodi collection, design: Iratzoki Studio © Didheya

The result of a two-year collaboration between the London-based collective JAM and the Cirva in Marseille, Lampposts is now on display at Galerie kreo. Comprising five street lamps, the collection defies gravity. Distant cousins of their urban archetypes, these totemic compositions push the structural limits of glass, whether molded or blown. Standing between 2.2 and 3.5 meters tall, these colorful giants invite visitors to contemplate them in the dim light of 31 rue Dauphine in Paris. It is a striking assembly, on view until December 23, which we discussed with its creators: Joe Halligan, Dan Waterstone, and Adam Willis.

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‍Can you tell us about your two years spent at Cirva and the research that led to the "Lampposts" project?

‍To be honest, we arrived at Cirva with a fairly open brief. As architects, we are interested in how things are made, how materials behave, and how we can push familiar processes into unknown territory. Cirva is an extraordinary place to explore these questions because it is designed for experimentation rather than the simple production of a predetermined object. So, the beginning was exploratory. We started by discovering the different qualities of glass and the processes available to us. There was blowing, molding, cutting, as well as assembly and material reuse. Several different projects emerged from this research—some more successful than others—but the street lamps gradually became the most ambitious project. What was particularly exciting was the relationship with the glassblowers. We developed a process of creating plaster molds that the glassblowers used to produce the individual glass cylinders that make up the lamps. It was a very direct collaboration between us and the artisans at Cirva. That is also what allowed the design to evolve throughout the manufacturing process, through trials and adjustments.

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‍At what point did this very "linear" drawing style become the main characteristic of your colorful structures?

‍Street lamps often have a very simple graphic aesthetic: a pole, an arm, and a globe. For our part, we liked the idea of reducing these familiar objects to their most basic lines. Glass offered an interesting way to achieve this, as it has a physical presence while also being able to almost disappear. The transparent tubes thus outline the object without giving it the solidity one would normally expect. As for the color, that was another discovery. Where the glass overlaps, where its thickness increases, the color becomes more intense. So, what seems quite simple from a distance becomes much richer and more complex as you move around it. Furthermore, there is a tension between the precision of the overall design and the irregularity of the handmade glass. And we really appreciate that relationship.

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The notion of scale and the "improbable" nature of creating such tall lighting fixtures were at the heart of your approach. Why is that?

‍We wanted to create something at a scale that didn't seem entirely reasonable for this material. Glass is generally associated with relatively small and delicate objects, whereas a street lamp is a piece of robust urban infrastructure. Bringing these two elements together results in a slightly absurd proposition. Scale also changes how one perceives an object. A classic table lamp fits into a room like a piece of furniture, but at two or three meters high, these street lamps take on an architectural dimension. They occupy space differently and become almost like characters with whom you share the room. There was also something exciting about attempting a project that we weren't entirely sure we could pull off. The technical difficulties became an integral part of the research, rather than just problems to be eliminated. Working at this scale pushed us, as well as the Cirva team, to develop new methods for manufacturing and assembling the pieces.

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‍You speak of an "element of urban infrastructure." What is your relationship with the city and the elements that compose it?

‍We are interested in the ordinary elements that give a city its unique character and atmosphere. Street lamps, railings, bollards, benches, and other pieces of street furniture are often overlooked, but taken together, they contribute enormously to our perception of a place. This is particularly evident in cinema, where an element as simple as a street lamp can immediately define the location, the era, or the mood of a scene. Think of the iconic street lamps of Paris or New York. These objects are an integral part of our collective image of a city, almost as if they were characters in their own right.

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‍You say you work with your glass street lamps "because it is the wrong material." What do you mean by that?

‍A street lamp is supposed to be solid, durable, economical, and resistant to the elements and everything else that might happen to it in a city. Glass is almost the exact opposite. It is fragile, difficult to work with, and in this specific case, its manufacture requires a considerable amount of labor. This contradiction was really the starting point. We liked the idea of taking something associated with solidity and permanence and reinventing it in a material that seems delicate and vulnerable. There is something interesting about using a material against its usual logic. It forces you to rethink the object, but also to explore qualities of the material that might otherwise go unnoticed.

After several weeks of social media teasers, the Berlin-based furniture brand ARWENN finally debuted in early September with an initial collection featuring a wide variety of product types, some of which were created in collaboration with international designers. These include Maria Jeglińska-Adamczewska, Studio Œ, Jörg Schellmann, and Unknown, Untitled. ARWENN aims to offer simple yet thoughtful design without neglecting the customer experience, which is central to its approach. Founders Ruben Hutschemaekers and Sebastian Schönheit share their vision.

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How did the idea for ARWENN come about?

ARWENN was born from a desire to meet the expectations of today's consumers. We believe that good design should combine a strong brand identity, affordable prices, uncompromising quality, and immediate availability. Too often, customers have to choose between these criteria. With ARWENN, we wanted to bring them all together.

You launched ARWENN in September, unveiling a collection of over 60 products. What were the main challenges in launching a new design brand? How long did it take to bring this project to life?

It took almost two years from the initial idea to where we are today. We started almost from scratch, as we had to build the brand identity, the supply chain, the business structure, and, of course, the collections themselves. Bringing all these elements together in such a short time was a real challenge. But having the right people around us from the start made a huge difference.

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If you had to summarize the identity and DNA of ARWENN in a few words, what would you say? What vision of design do you want to convey through the brand?

"Simplicity with a twist." That probably sums up ARWENN best. This idea applies as much to our products as it does to the overall experience we want to offer our customers. We stand for simple, thoughtful design, but always with an unexpected element that gives it character. Ultimately, nothing too complicated, but never anything mundane.

For this first collection, you collaborated with several international designers. How did you select them?

From the start, we made a promise to ourselves: to work only with people we enjoy collaborating with. Obviously, talent and creativity are essential, but mindset, work ethic, and a shared desire to create something meaningful are just as important. Over the years, we have had the opportunity to meet many inspiring people whose work and personality we admire. It is particularly rewarding to see some of these relationships take shape within the ARWENN collections today. Each designer brings a different perspective, but we all share a common vision of what we want to develop.

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ARWENN also has its own in-house design team. How does it work and what role does it play in the development of the collections?

Design and product development are at the heart of what we love to do. It was therefore natural for us to keep this creative energy within the brand. We enjoy collaborating with external designers, but some projects also start with a very specific idea from the beginning. Sometimes, the challenge is less about exploring a new creative direction and more about finding the smartest and most efficient way to design a good product. In those cases, our internal team takes over, which allows us to approach design from different angles while staying close to the realities of production, pricing, and product availability.

How is the production of your pieces organized and where are they manufactured?

All of our furniture is manufactured in Europe, with industrial partners located in Denmark, Germany, and Slovakia. Our lighting collection is produced in China, where we found a particularly high level of technical expertise and industrial development. The production capabilities there are impressive, especially regarding innovative manufacturing processes. For all our collections, we place great importance on optimizing packaging and transport. "Flat-pack" solutions play an important role in this approach, as they allow us to reduce transport volumes and, ultimately, make the products more accessible.

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You opened your first boutique in Berlin at the end of October. What does this new milestone represent for ARWENN?

Opening our first boutique in Berlin marks a significant milestone, as it brings the entire ARWENN universe together in one place. It is a space where the brand, our collections, and the customer experience truly come to life. We view physical retail locations as an essential component of our approach. It is not just about displaying products, but about creating an experience that differs from what consumers are typically accustomed to. Berlin is our starting point, and we are excited about the prospect of expanding this concept to other cities.

‍You advocate for making design more accessible, both in terms of price and product availability. How have you integrated this ambition into the development of your collections? And how do you manage to reconcile accessibility, quality, and craftsmanship?

This is probably our greatest challenge, but also one of the most important principles upon which ARWENN is built. Offering accessible prices, quality products, authentic materials, efficient inventory management, and a great customer experience is far from simple. It requires looking at every decision from multiple angles. For us, accessibility is not something added at the end of the design process: it must be integrated from the very beginning. Every product must be consistent on creative, technical, commercial, and logistical levels. This philosophy is reflected in every product in our first collection. There are certainly still areas where we can improve, but we have laid a solid foundation. And that is precisely what makes this process so interesting: constantly seeking solutions to make design more accessible without losing what makes it unique.

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Bottom left: DADO shelf, design: Unknown Untitled © ARWENN

Bottom right: BASE sofa, design: ARWENN © ARWENN