Philippe Malouin

Philippe Malouin lives and works in London. He graduated with a BA in Design from the Design Academy Eindhoven and studied at the École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle in Paris and the University of Montreal. He now teaches platform 18 alongside Sarah van Gameren at the Royal College of Arts, London. After a period with British designer Tom Dixon, Malouin set up POST-OFFICE in 2009, an architectural and interiors design practice. Philippe’s work perfectly expresses today’s cosmopolitan attitude to design. He experiments with everyday materials, such as MDF, hemlock wood and PVC. His projects translate local (China, Canada, Europe) and cultural (Brutalism, Niemeyer’s architecture, etc.) references into objects that have multiple interpretations. Philippe Malouin’s design objects are characterized by simple forms: spheres, circles, triangles, cylinders, etc. These objects are far from minimalist: they express a definite geometric dimension that gives them a strong material presence. This is visible in his fabrics and textiles, that sometimes seem to be three-dimensional.  He often creates a texture of horizontal lines, characterized by a strong attention to detailed. The repetition of lines, the degree to which they are bent and consequently the different light reflections that they produce evoke 1970s “geometric abstraction”. Philippe’s diverse portfolio includes tables, rugs, chairs, lights, art objects and installations. He is interested in kinetics, circular movement and creation of ephemeral volumes created by optic perception. Recently Philippe won the W Hotels ‘Designer of the Future’ Award and the Wallpaper ‘Best Use of Material’ Award.