Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance

Born in the South of France in 1975, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance is both a designer of objects and interior environments. Following in the footsteps of his father, a sculptor, at an early stage he took an artistic orientation.

 

Brought up in a creative atmosphere, he soon defined his own language: using natural shapes, aiming at smooth and organic lines, which remain fluid and structured at the same time. With a degree in Metal Sculpture from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués et des Métiers d’Art in his pocket, he then entered the Furniture section of the renowned school Les Arts Décoratifs.

 

Thanks to a rich creative background, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance explored new boundaries and rapidly became involved in unusual projects: one after the other, they have enabled him to define and create his own aesthetics and style. In 2002, he was artistic director for the Sketch restaurant in Soho, London: his bold interior design soon transformed it into one of the most sought-after venues of the capital. From one project to the next, he is always driven by new possibilities; and even if he can’t rely, at first sight, on past experience to achieve these new goals, they have always propelled him a step further… Sketch being a prime example.

 

Thanks to the worldwide recognition this project brought him, he created in 2003 his own creative studio, Neonata, meaning “New Birth”. Neonata acts as a think tank and laboratory of research, thus giving birth, with the help of his team, to design and interior architecture projects that convey a sense of perfection down to the last detail.

 

And such projects came along… In 2005, he aimed at a dramatic makeover for the high-end gastronomic restaurant Senderens (formerly known as Lucas Carton). Inside, Art Nouveau meets Design: complementing and contrasting with Majorelle’s historic wood-panels, luminous tables and engraved mirrors give a contemporary twist to the space. He took a formidable risk but it works.

 

Entering the design world like a shooting star in 2007, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance was awarded the prestigious « Créateur de l’Année » prize (ie: « Designer of the Year ») by Maison & Objets. In the same year, he designed the new interiors of the Maya Bar in Monaco, rejuvenated the famous Maison Sénéquier in St Tropez and created, in collaboration with Brand Image, the new visual and architectural identity of Air France’s business class lounges.

 

Working on projects that vary in size from a perfume bottle to the interior design of a hotel, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance always manages to instil his creations with fluid and airy lines. Finding his inspiration in nature, his series of “Down Side Up” vases resemble round pebbles, while his office ensemble “Landscape” created for Longchamp takes the form of a moving landscape. Last but not least, the furniture pieces he designed for Ceccotti – amongst which the Manta Desk remains an iconic element – appear as an elegant mix of intertwined curved lines and ramifications.

 

In parallel, one can also mention Remanescence, a light piece designed for Baccarat, a perfume bottle in the shape of a gold bar for Paco Rabanne or Dessous Chics, a collection of furniture for Zanotta.

 

Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance continues to aim at his definition of « essentiality » by creating meaningful objects and designing spaces that tell a story.