Interior Design Blog

When designer Paul Paulin was briefed by French President George Pompidou to redesign the interiors of the Palais de l'Elysée in Paris, in the late Sixties, he was asked to produce something groundbreaking in terms of technology and furniture production. The then-president Pompidou, who also commissioned both the arts centre - which today bears his name - and the Montparnasse Tower, wanted an innovative and forward-thinking approach to represent his political vision. Paulin diligently took on board the president's requests and produced a cutting-edge interior for the his Parisian residence, completing it in 1971. Paulin swapped the traditional wood-panelling with curving walls and ceilings, and created spaces that recalled the cult film 2001 Space Odyssey, released in 1968, rather than a typical official residence.

Paulin also designed the distinctive soft furniture to match the interior, with round and comfortable forms, including the Pumpkin range. This design showed great foresight on Paulin's part, and firmly proved the French designer to be light years ahead of other designers. Although an innovator at heart, Paulin is not the type of designer who believes in jumping too aheadof his time. 'It is difficult,' he says, 'I was asked to do something very modern at the time, to challenge the French furniture industry, but the result was not great, and the Pumpkin never reached mass production.'

Last year, French furniture manufacturer, Ligne Roset, took on the challenge to put the Pumpkin range into production and unveiled it during the London Design Festival in September. This is the beginning of what both Ligne Roset and Paulin see as a long-lasting collaboration. After the introduction of this rediscovered classic, Paulin is already at his drawing board for a new Ligne Roset range, to be unveiled in 2009.

It is an astonishing achievement for an 81 year old, but then Paulin is of a top pedigree. His career as a designer took-off in 1954, following his initial success at the Salon des Arts Ménagers, Paris, 1953. Here, he collaborated with Thonet-France, for whom he went on to design a series of sculptural chairs with an inner-structure of steel tubing, covered in foam and fabric. With Artifort, Paulin was able to experiment with new materials such as stretch jersey fabric to help the organic forms of his chair designs, including the Mushroom and Ribbon chair, become a reality. 'The Ribbon chair was provocative,' says Paulin, 'more than a chair, it was an integral aspect of Sixties rebellion in art and design.' Paulin's second presidential commission was for the Lycée for Francois Mitterand. '[Mitterand] wasn't too modern. I thought I could do something like I did for Pompidou, but not really. I was more anxious with Mitterand than Pompidou, as Mitterand was very different, a more conservative man,' says Paulin.

Yet, Paulin managed to find a progressive approach. In 1981 he designed the Cathédrale dining and coffee tables, applying a lasercutting technique, that was at the time only an experimental method. The Cathédrale tables have also recently been brought back into production, by Perimeter Edition in a collection of 12 pieces. Although he was working for the president, Paulin received the Elysée's commission from the Mobilier National which regularly commissions French furniture designers to create new pieces of design for 600 public buildings in France and around the world.

The origin of Mobilier National goes back to King Louis XIV who, in 1663, ordered his finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert to set the body up. It would commission work from French design houses, and this royal patronage would increase their global reputation. This was a forward-thinking approach to production and to this day, work commissioned by the Mobilier National is still property of the government and forms a collection of about 200,000 pieces of furniture.

The organisation has since required support from trade. To boost French furniture manufacturing, in 1964, French Minister of Culture André Malraux, proposed the creation of the Atelier de Recherche et de Création (ARC). This workshop was formed by nine of the best furniture craftsmen in France, who produced about 12 pieces of furniture every year.

Despite the Mobilier National's tendency to work with established names, it took a chance on Paulin at the time. Now, though, he is recognised as a member of the design establishment. The recent exhibition held in Paris, Paul Paulin, le Design au Pouvoir, celebrated 40 years of collaboration between Mobilier National and Paulin. Pride of place was given to the original furniture pieces Paulin designed for both Pompidou and Mitterand.

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Written by: Gian Luca Amadei