Roche Bobois furniture design project
Designed by Cécile Maïa Pujol when she was still an MA student at Central Saint Martins in London, The Lady B armchair is now being produced by French furniture brand Roche Bobois. The chair is the result of a design brief that was set by Nicolas Roche, creative director of Roche Bobois, as part of Roche Bobois’ 2012 Design Awards. This was the third time that the brand has run the award programme which enables it to work with young designers to develop new products. Having already taken place in China and Morocco, the third Design Awards took place at Central Saint Martin’s where students from its Textile Futures and Industrial Design MAs courses were invited to respond to the theme of “New ways of seeing, new ways of seating”.
Pujol’s Lady B Armchair is a plywood construction that peaks out into a split back like a butterfly’s wings. The curved back of the seat is designed to encourage the user to sit side-on, which opens them up to people in the room and therefore makes it easier to engage in conversation. The chair has been created around sociability and explores how design can affect the ways in which we interact with each other.
The Design Award was judged by Nicholas Roche, along with a jury of design journalists and industry professionals, including Disegno‘s Johanna Agerman Ross. The Lady B Armchair was selected as the winning design and Pujol was given the opportunity to further develop and refine her design, in collaboration with Roche Bobois, in order to get it ready it for market. The finished Lady B has now been launched and could be seen on display at Roche Bobois’ showrooms throughout the London Design Festival.
The Roche Bobois Design Awards provide a great opportunity for young design students to gain first-hand experience of the realities of industrial manufacture. The development of Pujol’s design provides a rare opportunity to see a student project mature into a production piece.
This film is the result of a collaboration between Disegno and Roche Bobois to document the evolution of the chair. It offers an insight into not only the design of the Lady B, but also its significance for Pujol’s future practice.
Disclosure : This is a paid advertorial post in collaboration with Disegno Magazine.