Jean-Marie Massaud | ScandinavianDesign.com

Jean-Marie Massaud is a French designer and architect, born in Toulouse in 1966, whose work ranges from furniture and lighting to buildings. In Scandinavia he is closely linked with Offecct, for which he has designed seating and acoustic products for more than two decades.

Background

Massaud graduated from ENSCI-Les Ateliers in Paris in 1990 and began his career working with the designer Marc Berthier. In 2000 he co-founded Studio Massaud with Daniel Pouzet, a practice that works across industrial design, high-end furniture and architecture. Clients have included B&B Italia, Poltrona Frau, Poliform and Axor Hansgrohe, and on the architectural side the studio designed the Estadio Chivas in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Design approach

Massaud aims for objects that feel light, calm and effortless, reduced to what is essential while still carrying a strong mood. Natural forms such as clouds, islands and reefs recur in his work, and he often treats furniture as a way of shaping how people meet and use a space.

Designs for Offecct

Massaud was among the international designers Offecct presented at the Stockholm Furniture Fair in 2001. His Bond series of chairs, easy chairs and tables became one of the company’s most successful product lines. Islands is a seating system for lobbies and waiting areas inspired by coral reefs, Soundwave Pix extends the Soundwave acoustic range, and Green Island was part of the Oasis concept for plants in interiors. Airberg, a sofa that seems to trap air inside a felt body, began as an Offecct Lab prototype.

Other Nordic work

For Wästberg he designed the w08 lamp, presented at the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2008, and he contributed to Zanat’s ten-year anniversary collection.

Recognition

Massaud has received a Compasso d’Oro for the Yale sofa for MDF Italia, Red Dot and Wallpaper Design Awards. Airberg received a Muuuz International Award and was among the selected works at Design S 2014, and Green Island received a Green Good Design Award in 2016.

By Editorial Team, ScandinavianDesign.com