OUTONOMY pavilion by Mathieu Lehanneur at Maison & Objet 2024 – Photos by ©Anne-Emmanuelle Thion, courtesy of M&O.

Design – It’s time to “rethink the way we live and interact with our environment,” believes Mathieu Lehanneur, Maison & Objet 2024 Designer of the Year. Tuning with the Parisian fair’s Tech-Eden general theme, the designer created OUTONOMY, a bright yellow installation bringing together nature and new technologies. The installation features some of the French designer’s furniture and lighting designs as well as his forward-thinking and holistic approach.

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Drawing inspiration from nature and history, Mathieu Lehanneur works closely with scientists and start-ups, combining design and technology, art, and artisanal know-how. OUTONOMY is an invitation “to return to basics (…) [using] the intelligence of nature and that of human adventure,” explains the designer. The pavilion invited visitors to discover an “ecosystem for living, both minimal, optimal and optimistic,” and reveals a longing need for freedom.

Painted in a vibrant, bright yellow colour, OUTONOMY stands out and shines with optimism. Around the built structure are a punching bag inviting visitors to fight for their freedom, the boxy Square Sun armchair, and a totemic sculpture of Andrea purifiers that clear the air with living plants.

Developed in collaboration with Harvard University, Andrea takes the air from the room and absorbs its toxic compounds using plants selected for their filtering ability. The air which passes through each unit is purified by the leaves and roots of the plant.

Inside, the pavilion features some of Lehanneur’s statement pieces, including the Guernica pendant lamp inspired by a blooming iris flower and the Happy To Be Here table with its blown-glass legs nodding to the ephemeral nature of bubbles. Nested in a fireplace is the Permanent Flame sculpture: a frozen flame, an instant captured in three dimensions, fire without fuel… forever.

Far from nostalgia or an attempt to retrace our steps, the disruptive and poetic OUTONOMY installation aims to “rethink our cohabitation with the living in an optimistic way and attempts to answer the question: what do I really need?” It suggests a new lifestyle, an alternative vision to the modern representation of man dominating nature!

All photos by ©Anne-Emmanuelle Thion, courtesy of Maison & Objet 2024.