The furniture of the future is being created today

The overall goal of “Reinventing Paris” is to create new living spaces in the capital. After several eliminatory rounds, ENGIE’s "Chronotope" project is about to face the final selection committee, who will choose the project that is best suited to redeveloping a building in the thirteenth arrondissement. To round out its proposal and offer a project that is truly innovative, ENGIE is launching a call for projects for a line of "suitcase furniture", conceptualized by Bléas & Leroy Architects, that will be designed to furnish a flexible space and adapt it to different uses. "For Reinventing Paris, a major call for innovative urban projects, we partnered with architects and companies in creating the ‘Chronotope’ project”, explains Ludovic Mouly, Delegate Director for Local Authorities at ENGIE. "The idea is to invent a new type of a building, one that is completely flexible, and that above all accommodates different users with different needs throughout the course of the day."

Furniture that provides function to space

The Chronotope project aims to address a major issue for cities: how can you reduce a building’s environmental footprint? ENGIE’s answer is to develop a building that is modular both in how it is set up and in how it functions. "Buildings and transportation are the two biggest consumers of energy. The Chronotope offers an innovative way to reduce energy bills and carbon emissions. This project is part of a broader strategy: to be the European leader in energy transition," added Ludovic Mouly. By providing areas that can be shared by different users - startups, coworking companies, nonprofits, independent contractors, students, etc. -, vacant space and downtime can be reduced. For this to work, the furniture needs to adapt to different peoples’ needs at different times of day. "Today, we know how to build with recycled materials and make buildings that are self sufficient in energy. There are still areas that need to be improved, including optimizing the use of space. Rather than provide a place, we can suggest uses,” says Hugo Bleas. “This lets us dematerialize space in the interest of creating an efficient service offering,” according to the co-founder of Bleas & Leroy Architects, ENGIE’s partner in the project.

Modular furniture for different periods of the day

The challenge of this call for projects— conceiving completely modular furniture—is to offer all of the future users of Chronotope the kind of furniture that can transform and evolve to meet their various needs. The units have to be easy to move between storage space and the various floors, and must in particular be ultra adaptable to different needs, whether work, relaxation, meetings, rest, storage, and daily living (kitchens, bathrooms), etc. "We imagined spaces that are free from any constraints; all networks (air, internet, electricity, water ins and outs) will be accessible from a simple plug,” says Ludovic Mouly. “Furniture must adapt to this freedom.” Hugo Bleas adds:" The furniture design fits into the overall vision of the project. "

You have until October 30th to submit your application to the call for project : Creating innovative modular furniture for flexible spaces !