Playing With Shapes was conceived in 1972 by avant-garde designer Paulin for the American office furniture maker Herman Miller.
At Design Miami 2014, Louis Vuitton displayed a modular living concept Pierre Paulin had envisioned with Herman Miller, with 18 unique and never-produced designs: a one-of-a-kind project.
An avant-garde designer, Pierre Paulin anticipated with this project the necessary alliance between a changing world, new techniques and a living space that was conceived like a refuge, or an intimate safe house. For 60 years, Paulin has influenced interior design with his rounded, comforting shapes, sculptural chairs, and spaces that seem to undulate like dunes. You haven’t noticed, but his objects are so innovative they have shaped the way people live; Paulin is one of the few designers to have come through the 1950s by defying the modernist tag.
This full-scale reproduction by Louis Vuitton for Design Miami 2014 of the original mock-up ingeniously combines notions of comfort, ergonomics, the user’s freedom of choice, simple, straightforward solutions and modular design. It reflects a shared vision, as Paulin believed that design should address users’ needs rather than serve style for its own sake. Erm, are you listening Mister Starck?
In this one-of-a-kind example of modular living, each level forms a coherent whole yet offers complete freedom with respect to furnishings.
