The Maison&Objet show, which takes place from Thursday, January 18 to Monday, January 22 in Villepinte (northeastern Paris), usually sets the tone in terms of interior design. For this edition, the French fair show focuses on improved ways to live on the planet. This 30th fair encourages a constructive approach to shape desirable futures, in harmony with the cheerful Peach Fuzz, declared the color of the year 2024 by Pantone. "A velvety gentle peach whose all-embracing spirit enriches heart, mind, and body," said the American colorist, who in 2023 had chosen magenta red from the 3,000 or so references on his color chart, consulted by many of the world's designers and graphic artists.
As such, Maison&Objet has chosen the theme of Eden for its exhibition, but a "Tech Eden, combining two antithetical concepts – technology and nature – to design a desirable future at the crossroads of the two worlds," said Mélanie Leroy, managing director of Maison&Objet, citing as an example James Cameron's blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water. "I can't imagine us living in a bunker, but rather in an original cave, with the comforts we no longer want to give up: This ties in with our contemporaries' desire for independence," said Mathieu Lehanneur, who, as the designer of the year 2024 and creator of the Olympic torch, has been given a 160-square-meter space in Hall 7 for him to expose his vision of the future.
The innovative habitat he has designed, called Outonomy and bathed in yellow solar light, includes a large aquarium with possibly edible fish, along with vegetables and depolluting plants, with their roots immersed. Energy and warmth are supplied by wind turbines on the roof, while helium-powered drones act as watchmen, not monitoring humans, but their environment. It's a living ecosystem that is both minimal and optimal. It's futuristic, but not just that, as some of the creations already exist, designed by Lehanneur, while others are currently being developed in collaboration with specialized companies. "Technology interests me when it contributes to well-being and reconnects us to our forgotten physiologies and instincts. That's when it becomes fascinating when it enables us to rediscover our humanity: To breathe better, sleep better, or eat better," said the designer, who will celebrate his 50th birthday at the end of the year.
As for the Rising Talent prize, the exhibition has also chosen to look into the future by recognizing not just promising designers from a single country, but seven "young designer-researchers who respond effectively to the 'new frontier' of digital technology that is disrupting our habits," explained Dereen O'Sullivan, Maison&Objet's event manager. "The recent emergence of new processes, such as artificial intelligence or 3D printing, provides an unprecedented adventure playground for designers, and greatly enhances traditional craftsmanship skills."
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