SELECTED PROJECT – PERENNIAL
Perennial – Thomas Laffly and Lou Perdreau (Marseille, France)
Our dream kitchen is a primitive, primary kitchen. In the collective imagination, the mental image of the kitchen is one of furniture and appliances agglomerated within a fixed, relatively standardized architecture: a kitchen is nothing without its habitat, its adjacent rooms, a floor, surrounding walls, a hood, a curtain, a window, wiring, etc. Our kitchen is first and foremost stripped of the context imposed on it by industrialization.
Our kitchen is first and foremost freed from the context imposed on it by industrialization; it is not attached to anything except the natural elements that will be adjacent to it. Whether it’s a meal, a banquet, a dinner party or a celebration, whether the event is intimate or collective, it will revolve around a stone, reminiscent of the domestication of fire and the very origin of the principle of a meal. This kitchen is therefore a sculptural island invited by its environment, adapting to it and not creating conviviality according to the classic model, but rather participating in the sublimation of a natural environment that is already welcoming. It fits into the landscape and invites us to contemplate it, to taste its flavours.
Drawing its resources from the natural environment in which it is embedded, the island operates via primary devices: the shade structure provides shade and a place to hang tools, while the stone provides a place to work, store food and rest one’s elbows.
The physical properties of the elements are exploited without any residue: the massiveness of the stone enables cool storage and easy washing of worktops, the energy of the wind supplies the island with electricity, that of the sun for the hot water tank, and the nearby environment for the harvesting of perennials and herbs. The island is a neutral starting point onto which additional technologies or tables can be grafted if required. The idea remains that of a moment of sharing in keeping with the techniques and products used: a sober, convivial kitchen.
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Lou and Thomas, a French duo based between Marseille, Grenoble, and Besançon, integrate architecture with visual arts. Their architectural practice is enriched by painting, sculpture, design, and photography, deepening their reflections and graphic representations of architecture. Passionate about exploring French territories, they investigate spatial arrangements, the lives of local residents, and, above all, the art of gastronomy. Their works question space and conviviality at the heart of the human experience.