Patrick Juen. “You can have the most beautiful interior in the world, if it has a terrace, people will want to be there.”

Madame Figaro . – What is the main modern change affecting the design profession?
Patrick Jewin. – Disappointment. Humans have always regarded technical progress as the ultimate source of happiness. This is no longer the case. However, we all need a shared story to move forward. And with the end of faith in progress, it collapses. Hence many concerns arise that have repercussions in all fields, including design.

In the video, in 2014. Van Cleef in New York, decor by Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku

Are we at a dead end, stuck in the face of the future?
I have unwavering faith in people. Therefore, I hope that we will overcome our problems, our mediocrity. I dare to think that design will provide solutions. Designers have a special power. We use ancient know-how that we must preserve. they are an alternative to an industry that sometimes makes us believe that the hand no longer has a place in manufacturing.

Is this the craftsman’s return to grace?
With progress, we could imagine that know-how is no longer useful. The machine is able to replicate the master’s technique to perfection. But luckily, it hasn’t gone away. And this, because we fulfill ourselves as human beings by “doing”. We all feel joy when we use our hands. Industry, standardization has not been right in this satisfaction. No, they catalyzed it. Indeed, in recent times, in the conditions of mass production, “doing” and “handmade” cause a growing obsession.

A designer will never be positive for the environment because we are in a manufacturing logic, but we have to ensure that it is as minimally negative as possible.

Patrick Jew

And is this the end of the industrial designer?
No. But I think that now the designer should be between craftsmanship and industry. And he has to consider its impact. It will never be positive for the environment, because we are in the logic of production and therefore energy consumption, but we must ensure that it is as minimally negative as possible. So there are things I will never do again, like a piece of plastic chair, even with recycled plastic. I did, but that’s it.

Are you ditching plastic altogether now?
Plastic is a resourceful and expensive material because it is derived from petroleum, doomed to disappear. Therefore, it should not be used to make disposable dishes or a light chair, but only to produce parts of great importance that can save lives, for example in hospitals.

“We still have to build.”

Do you also pursue sustainability in the architectural projects you develop with your agency Jouin Manku? Can we still build when we know how big the carbon footprint is in the construction sector?
We still have to build. We must be surrounded by our past and present culture. Paris is an open-air museum with its architecture that tells our story. By ceasing to build, we would cease to invent and bear witness to the times. On the other hand, we need to think about another architecture: more reasonable, economical, visionary, scalable.

I tell myself, perhaps naively, that the beauty of things nearby creates a strong bond between the city and the citizen.

Patrick Jew

You’re not giving up on building, and you’ve just renovated the Biome, a 1960s building. So you are proving Lakaton and Vassall right who are campaigning to stop the demolition.
The building does not prevent restoration. When you have a high-quality building like the Biome, designed in the 1960s by Raymond Lopez and Henri Pothier, why tear it down? We couldn’t have done better. So we kept the frame, the cores, reinforced the floors, but also optimized the light that now comes in everywhere, and the basements too… I’m very proud of the result.

The city does not leave you indifferent. You put a signature on it with toilets, old Vélib’ charging stations… Why is there this interest in anything to do with the Cité?
The starting point of my work as a designer is to be in service. I tell myself, perhaps naively, that the beauty of the things at hand creates a strong connection between the city and the citizen. If the citizen notices that the city cares about his functional and aesthetic needs, he will respect it. Street furniture is central to this relationship and must evolve with residents and habits. New toilets will be installed in Paris. Their design is more sober than the previous one, because it seems to me that we need more calmness in a more complex public space. They combine a urinal and a disabled toilet, which doubles the number of toilets in the city, and is a necessity to improve good citizenship.

In addition to these achievements, travel-related missions such as the Grand Paris Express or Mobilize, a Renault Group brand dedicated to new forms of mobility.
More than travel-related missions, these two projects await. This subject was also my diploma at the end of my studies at Ensci (National School of Industrial Creation, Editor’s Note) I am sensitive to what is happening around me, and waiting allows me to observe. There is an opportunity to place signs in the universe that we capture only in these “transient” moments. This is where you touch people’s hearts. And this is one of the important points of Grand Paris Express.

In this network, we wait for transport for two minutes during peak hours, and therefore we pay attention to our environment. Therefore, every detail, right down to the fire extinguisher cabinets and emergency stop buttons, is perfectly designed and manufactured. This contributes to the beauty of the whole and the idea of ​​protection. Anticipation is also at the heart of my collaboration with Mobilize. It’s not just about designing a charging station, it’s about inventing places that revolve around it. Electric cars will no longer be able to allow us to travel 1000 km in one go. We’re going to have to stop once or twice and for a while. What will we do during these stops? Work? To go shopping ? Eat? We are left to think about a framework and offer adapted to this new way of working.

Perhaps you’ll settle in these waiting areas for outdoor furniture, a field of creativity that attracts more and more designers…
You can have the most beautiful interior in the world, if it has a terrace, people will want to be there. We all want to be outside. And it’s interesting to think about how we come to own these spaces. There were precursors like Fermob, notably the Luxembourg Chair. I’m also thinking about the Mallet-Stevens folding chair. But there is still much to invent. What am I doing specifically with Pedrali? I am lucky to have started working with them ten years ago. This fills me up because Pedrali is not only a publisher but also a producer. The people in front of me know the machines, the techniques, the materials. And I like it! I believe I could do a lot with what I paint. Moreover, we have a prototyping workshop in the studio. And as we move on from XI^e in VIII^e in nicer areas I have planned a larger workshop.

Video: Deco training. color the window opening with interior designer Asma Salomon