In many ways,
they constitute a project within a project. Particular attention is devoted to
them, as well as a substantial amount of research and development. Their
particularity is to push the limits and to propose something never seen before,
embarking clients on a creative voyage whose direction may be change en
route depending on discoveries made along the way, but whose end point is
always something unexpected.
To imagine each,
the studio assembles a special team, working in parallel to the overall project
and consisting of in-house designers as well as outside artisans, artists or
engineers. Some objets extraordinaires are produced solely using
traditional crafts; others combine savoir-faire that may appear diametrically opposed.
The façade
of the Van Cleef & Arpels building in Seoul brought together an
octogenarian craftsman specialized in the age-old art of celadon and a hi-tech
boat-building company. The result is a geometrically complex, lattice-like
aluminum structure clad with celadon panels, which twists and turns. The
Centenary Chandelier at La Mamounia hotel in Marrakesh is composed of both
glass sections industrially manufactured in Czechia and decorative metallic
elements handmade by Moroccan artisans.
Each objet
extraordinaire is conceived to have a particular presence and a certain
intrigue. Some impress by their scale, others by the way they seem to defy the
laws of physics. A suspended, transparent, acrylic and polished chrome bar in a
Shanghai company headquarters is so ethereal that appears to float, thus
confounding the onlooker as to its very existence.
And while
many are the product of great technical prowess, their aim is to appear
effortless and to blend harmoniously with the rest of their environment. As
Sanjit and Patrick say, “It’s not about the objects themselves. It’s about how
they make a room vibrate in a very different way.” In other words, how they
create an extraordinary moment of magic.
by Ian Philips
2024
Objets extraordinaires
At the heart of Jouin Manku’s practice is the desire to create what the studio calls “objets extraordinaires.” Depending on the context, their typology may vary—chandeliers, staircases, screens, large-scale installations, architectural envelopes… Yet, they all share a common goal. To surpass expectations or turn them on their head. To attract the gaze, make people stop in their tracks, inspire a touch of wonder.
Van Cleef & Arpels facade in Séoul
The Chandelier at La Mamounia
Other projects
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