Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 31 (Aurélien). 30 (Costanza).
Occupation: Architects, interior designers, and furniture designers.
Instagram: @studioakademos
Hometown: Paris.
Studio location: Paris.
Describe what you make: We design furniture and interiors. We base our aesthetic on several different domains such as cinema, fashion, and history. Movies like The Graduate by Mike Nicholls, Belle de Jour by Luis Buñuel, or Gruppo di Famiglia in un Interno by Visconti have shaped our aesthetic as well as the universes of Café Society and the glamour of the late 1970s.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: Our first furniture collection. It’s really through this collection that we saw our studio’s identity evolve and take the shape that it is today. This collection basically laid the foundations of our stylistic identity.
Describe the problem your work solves: We don’t really know if our work solves any problems, but we constantly strive to bring something different to the table. We also understand that design and interior design are a constant conversation between uses and aesthetics. Our furniture and interiors need to make sense. From the scale of the space to the scale of the object, everything has to have a reason for existing and everything needs to play a role through the initial story on which we based our creation.
Describe the project you are working on now: An apartment in Paris that should be completed in September. We’re also working on a private chapel in the French Alps that will be converted into a gym. This project should start next October. This chapel will be treated as some sort of a folly, a “delicious” absurdity.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: Three apartments as one project in Paris. We can’t say a lot as we’re contractually obligated to stay discreet until completion as it’s a commercial project. This project should be launching this September. The client is very passionate about architecture and design and has given us carte blanche, which is very exciting!
What you absolutely must have in your studio: Books. Lots of books. And coffee. And music of course.
What you do when you’re not working: Read books and watch documentaries about history (Aurélien). Exhibits, museums, and art galleries (Costanza). We both try to travel as much as we can to recharge and get new inspiration sources.
Sources of creative envy: Maria Pergay and Marchesa Luisa Casati.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Social media.
Concrete or marble? Marble.
High-rise or townhouse? Townhouse.
Remember or forget? Remember.
Aliens or ghosts? Ghosts if we get to meet the ones from the people we admire.
Dark or light? Color.
