Fondation Thalie, Brussels/Arles
Samy Rio
Between industrial craftsmanship and cottage industry
French designer Samy Rio combines craft and industry to improve the quality of his production, while retaining control over the myriad of durable objects he produces.
Bringing together these two diametrically opposed modes of production allows him to breathe new life into neglected craft traditions while tempering mass production. Samy Rio puts his training in cabinetmaking and industrial design at the service of this new hybrid approach, enabling it to pass the test of viability.
Simple and uncluttered in appearance, Samy Rio’s objects examine the role of design in reinterpreting sustainable practices through combinations of materials and processes.
Samy Rio won the Design Parade grand prize at villa Noailles in 2015.
This award led to a tour of prestigious residencies, including those at Villa Kujoyama in Kyoto and Le NTCRI in Taiwan, and to collaborations with Manufacture nationale de Sèvres and Cirva, two institutions he convinced to work together on a joint project.
Samy Rio sees himself as a mediator or intermediary between highly qualified and specialized know-how (both artistic and scientific) that might not come into contact without his intervention.
He also works closely with a number of architectural firms, pooling their know-how to develop transdisciplinary, innovative and sustainable projects, such as the Académie in Lyon for the WHO with Atelier 2/3/4, or the fitting-out of the new Grand Palais with Atelier Senzu.
Aboriginal standards
Supported by the French Ministry of Culture via the AMI Mondes Nouveaux program, the studio has been developing a local industry project for 3 years, based on the notion of indigenous standards. The initiative aims to deploy production channels for products and materials intimately linked to the resources, history and needs of a territory.
The pilot project is attached to the Cévennes National Park, and is working with the ONF and local forestry stakeholders to preserve and develop the Cévennes forest basin. A range of products are being developed and tested, enabling wood and non-wood products to be put to good use and maintaining the forests while helping them evolve towards a more resilient forest: the mosaic forest.
The objects on display are linked to various sectors currently under development:
– the revalorization of chestnut coppice through furniture production.
– The development of a wood glue made from maritime pine resin to reduce the risk of fire.
reduce the risk of fire associated with this species and eliminate the need for pertro-sour glue.
– The production of a wood-frame construction system for public spaces, making the most of local wood species and making them ecologically viable as lumber, thus avoiding the need to import raw materials.
A range of lighting fixtures developed and produced with the same attention to detail and durability will also be on display.
https://www.fondationthalie.org/
