Paris-based designer Patrick Norguet is a believer in the off-beat-but-accessible, a thinker keen to clear away some of the cobwebs of pretension that (especially in France) cling to the profession. At the same time, he brings a mania of intellectual enthusiasm (also singularly French) to even the most humble project, be it interiors, products, luggage—you name it. What better commission, then, for such a high-minded populist than the dreaded gastro-cultural behemoth that the Parisians call “McDo.” Norguet was recently brought aboard by McDonald’s to reinvent its restaurants in France, giving them a more family-friendly bent. His first location opened earlier this year, a cleanly contemporary redo near Toulouse with sculpted-plywood booths and Norguet’s own steel chairs for Lapalma, and six more are on the way. Surface got the skinny on Norguet’s Big Mac makeover.

So, are you a longtime McDo fan?
I am not an expert! Each project is a challenge for me, and I started this project like all the others, by just removing my own experience, and then intellectually observing the brief as an outsider, looking to give it more meaning. I observed the sociological context of the brand and tried to find out why McDonald’s has become so implanted in our culture.

How do you think your design responds to the company’s fundamental identity?
We live in an age where the focus is always on speed. It was important for me to take time for reflection. I obviously had no right to pollute the McDonald’s brand—which is all about speed—so the project does not break with the past, but it does begin to move toward an evolution, a repositioning of priorities that places the human at the center. It gives back to the place a happy and friendly feeling, family-oriented and generous. At the same time, developments in digital technology fundamentally change the way we live, and we’ve integrated this into our concept for table service. There’s a control device near your seat, and a restaurant employee actually brings you your meal.

Do you think there's a special challenge in designing for McDonald’s in France—a brand that has had,on peut dire, a complex history in your country?
The challenge was pretty significant. McDonald’s is a brand we love to criticize, and yet it’s so popular. The company’s track record in France is especially interesting—the work of its president [Jean-Pierre Petit] has enabled the brand to evolve, and these developments of the company’s French operations have fed innovation in the brand worldwide. Since the corporate culture here has always been in the vanguard, we felt it important to match that forward-thinking approach. That’s why we insisted on innovation—in lighting quality, acoustic quality, and a comprehensive new look, from graphics to typefaces.

How does this project fit into your overall oeuvre?
I think the theme of this project that connects it with the rest of my work for the last decade is simply its rigor and pragmatism. It’s the search for simplicity.

Patrick Norguet
All photos: Courtesy Studio Patrick Norguet