Stool, Box, Prototyp,

2004–2006

Augustin Scott de Martinville (b. 1980), Elric Petit (b. 1978), and Grégoire Jeanmonod (b. 1978) met in 2004 at the École cantonale d’art de Lausanne. In 2006, along with Adrien Rovero (b. 1981), they presented their second furniture collection at the Milan Furniture Fair—just one year after their debut collection Heritage in Progress. Featuring a rug, vases, pendant lamps, mirrors, stools, and a tetrahedron-shaped armchair, Pack Sweet Pack confronts domestic living space with the packaging industry. Although in formal terms the Box stool, in folded aluminum with an inset handle, recalls Le Corbusier’s Tabouret from 1959, its structure and color scheme unmistakably reference its source of inspiration: a folded cardboard box.
As well as juxtaposing two distinctive design areas, the collection takes a playful approach to symbols—as signaled by the name of the Lausanne-based design collective. This radical approach, which runs counter to furniture-industry conventions, has played a significant part in the success of the now well-established design studio. (Sabina Tenti and Renate Menzi)