Jean-Marie Massaud for Porro

JEAN-MARIE MASSAUD (Toulouse, 1966) for PORRO.
Sofa "Truffle", 2005.
Polypropylene and metal base.
Slight scratches.
Measurements: 60 x 115 x 105 cm.
French designer Jean-Marie Massaud designed the Truffle chair for Porro in Italy in 2005. 8 Truffle armchairs designed by Jean Marie Massaud for Porro, were chosen among the Indoor-Outdoor works of 6 famous designers to furnish Intramuros Cafe, a place of informal relaxation and design curated by the French magazine in the exhibition spaces of Now!design à vivre, from 5 to 9 September 2008 in Paris.
Since the beginning of his career (he graduated from ENSCI-Les Ateliers in Paris in 1990), Jean-Marie Massaud has been working on an extensive variety of works, ranging from architecture to objects, from single projects to serial works, from macro-environments to micro-contexts. Major brands such as Air France, Axor, Mdf Italia, Poltrona Frau or Toyota have sought his talent for combining comfort and elegance, zeitgeist (or zeitgeist) and heritage, generosity and distinction. Beyond sleek designs, his quest for lightness-in essence-synthesizes three broader interests: individual and collective fulfillment, economic and industrial efficiency, and concern for the environment. "I'm trying to find an honest and generous way with the idea that beyond the hard economic data, there are users. People." His creations, speculative or pragmatic, explore this paradigm imperative: reconciling pleasure with responsibility, the individual with the collective. When asked to imagine a new stadium for the city of Guadalajara, Mexico, he came back with a never-before-seen building shaped like clouds and volcanoes, integrated into a vast program of urbanism that brings together leisure and culture, nature and urbanization, sports fans and local citizens. Instead of presenting a stadium, he proposed an environment. The initial idea evolved into a realistic approach and the project came to life in July 2011. More recently, his concept car, developed in collaboration with Toyota, has the same goal. MEWE is a synthesis of economic and ecological concepts that integrates specific issues for each stakeholder: the user, the industry and the environment. A pioneering multi-purpose platform in a car for people, with a body in expanded polypropylene foam. A major innovation. "When I'm working on a project, I always try to renew the subject I'm involved in." Another distinctive aspect of his approach.