Portrait/Interview:
Studio Dessuant Bone
Studio Dessuant Bone is a multidisciplinary design studio based in Paris run by
Marie Dessuant and Philip Bone. The couple met whilst undertaking residencies at Fabrica,
the Benetton Group Communication Centre in Italy, and have since combined their skills
to offer design consultancy that brings together branding, product and space design,
for a growing list of international clients.
Phil and Marie spoke to Anna Stewart.
Phil Bone photographed by Amandine in London
We met during the Biennale Interieur in Kortrijk when you presented
‘The Permanent Collection’ which cleverly showed the architectural features
of an old Belgian school about to be demolished.
Can you describe the project for those who didn’t see it?
Sure, the core of the concept for The Permanent Collection was the fact that the Broel School is soon to be demolished. So we covered all the surfaces of the former classroom in the Broel School with black plastic and exposed areas of the space as if they were art, in turn highlighting, detailing, and romanticising the last moments of the space before its demolished. We used a black plastic normally associated with building and construction sites because it created a really engaging dramatic space that concentrated and focused the viewer on the negative spaces left behind. The concept also inverted the typical experience of visiting a gallery or museum, where the visitor views art displayed on the walls, in this case the old classroom was the art.
Your studio is in Paris and you both work between Paris and London.
How is the commute?! And why did you decide to settle in Paris?
We love the Eurostar, so that’s a good start! Working between the two cities is a great privilege, they are both amazing cities with their own characteristics. We find inspiration in both. London has a great buzz, energy and you can really go far there, it’s a very open, liberal city. Paris is charming, and [we] feel like there is more freedom here; it’s more suited to our personalities. After living in London for five years and visiting Paris often (it’s Marie’s home town), we were able to get a good feeling for the city and find out how the design scene and industry was developing. It felt like Paris was the perfect place to start our studio. We’ve been here for a year now and even in that short space of time there are so many new creatives here, its really exciting at the moment in Paris.
Going back to your studio… What a great space! I was lucky enough to visit
your live/work space before Maison & Objet this year. It’s very precise, thoughtful,
no clutter. Do you think your home space reflects your work, your approach to design?
To an extent yes, because there are objects, images, pieces of furniture that we like and probably reflect our personality, therefore our work, so we have them in our space.
There are also pieces of our own work however its still a working space and a home so it’s got to feel comfortable. This year we will be looking for a new studio space, hopefully we’ll find something that feels right for us, we’d love to work in a space that houses other artists, designers, photographers etc, we feel that works really well for inspiration and on a practical/professional level for networking and using other disciplines to inform our work.
I’m interested in the Honor project, a café at Comme Des Garçons on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore. How did this collaboration happen? And what were the challenges of designing an outdoor space like this?
We were approached by a couple of entrepreneurs who had been asked by a French coffee company called Coutume to open a new space in the courtyard of the Comme des Garçons store. It had to change the cafe landscape within the area and create a unique, creative
and enjoyable experience. It took them a while to find the right people to produce and design the project, so when we were approached we were really excited because we knew it had the potential to be a really original project. It was a great opportunity because it allowed us to design not only the space but the identity as well, in this way of working we have a holistic approach to a project, that’s something we enjoy the most.
The biggest challenge was that we knew it was outside, but it wasn’t a pop-up space,
so it had to work all year round. Also the courtyard is a listed site so the structure couldn’t be fixed to any wall or floor. This meant that we effectively moulded and ‘hugged’ the structure to the existing courtyard. To make the space work all year round the cafe was designed with a retractable roof that is transparent, maintaining the feeling of being outside; it now achieves the maximum amount of natural light during the day. The kiosk facades can be easily removed in order to create various configurations according to the weather conditions. The facades, once removed, also create architectural interests within the space, which further the design language.