Axel de Beaufort & Partners
I hold the position of executive interior designer. I am part of the team responsible for the design of two luxury boats and my mission is to draw the new layouts in 2D (including Art Explorer), prepare the 3D, draw custom furniture, search for materials for these, develop customer presentations but also to realize for a former client the book reportage of his sailing boat.
Work still in progress…
Nocea Architecture
Tenants and works management, budget monitoring of projects worth several million Swiss francs, choice of furnishings and interior design for luxury homes in Geneva….
Work in progress…..
La nativa
La nativa is a concept bar located in the heart of Geneva. The owners are passionate about crafts and travel and it was important to them that this be reflected in their bar. The idea was to create a space that would allow the customer to escape. Most of the furniture was found at flea markets in order to offer a unique and warm space that tells a story. The space also had to be multi-functional so that it could host various events but also to have a display area for the crafts they sell.
Wiño Tüwun
Viaje al origen
Thesis
(2021)
Thinking about new forms of tourism makes tourism evolve, and even more, it enriches it. Barcelona has always shown an interest in other cultures, having been the host of the Universal Exhibition in 1888 already showed Barcelona’s interest in making other peoples known and admired.
Although Spain has immense cultural ties with Latin America, these ties have always been more economic. Recognizing the existence of these peoples, to make known their culture is not something new, today we must learn from these peoples because their claims show us that the links with the Earth are sacred, they recharge, develop, and cohabit integrally with the flower and fauna of their environment. This tourism is rich in human values, values of respect and sees in other cultures a source of learning, a source of recognition of the people called a few centuries ago «Savages» because their development was different, it was more human and developed with respect for Nature. Today the world is suffering the consequences of the destruction of the environment, this time it is up to us to learn from these cultures so that we can live in balance with the environment and so that we can respect other peoples through these cultural values, rich in knowledge, rich in respect for others. These values, these cultures, are the most important elements that I wanted to transmit in this project.
TO CREATE AWARENESS OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE CULTURES IN THE WORLD TODAY, FOCUSING ON THE MAPUCHE FROM CHILE, TO REACH A NEW CONCEPT OF CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY AND NOT OF EXTINCTION.
The native cultures are being forgotten. Being the essence of a country it should be put forward and have a greater importance because we have a lot to learn from them also about the story of their countries. On the other hand, one must remember that every great nation that exists today comes from the roots of the original peoples. Today, and for centuries, the original indigenous people of Latin American countries have been struggling for their recognition as nations, for their rights and for unity in diversity. Indeed, they have a conception of life that is different from the individualistic modern world in which one lives; harmony and balance is essential. The Mapuche people are one of Chile’s best known indigenous people, both for their social and demographic weight and for their strong sense of cultural identity, who have historically found ways to resist and adapt to the dynamics of border contacts with Spaniards and Chileans. The idea would be to propose a project that, through an immersive exhibition that will happen as a journey through the exposition space to experience more fully the culture on exhibit , could create an awareness of the indigenous Mapuche people but also a mean of learning about their culture with all the benefits that this implies. The solution will now be created for the Mapuche community but it will be applicable for any other native nation of the world.
After analyzing the key points of my research and realizing the problems that are still linked to the promotion of indigenous peoples, I decided to find a solution that would benefit them without disturbing their daily lives. Indeed, the touristic initiatives that are set up today to make these communities known, are not really completely for them (income that does not go entirely to them but that a part goes to the organizations or governments that help them to develop these initiatives, the indigenous people are not actors of these initiatives but are still sometimes put down to the status of victims or strange foreigners that we go to see by curiosity and not by desire to learn from them for examples).
My idea was to create a space where time allows us to observe, feel and listen to their stories, their lives, their cosmology, their claims, this kind of concept would allow us to have a global vision of a people, not just a part of it, it would allow us to understand and respect a people.
For this purpose, I decided to choose the four strongest aspects of the Mapuche culture and to represent them sensitively in an exhibition in the form of a path. Each different aspect will be represented in a space of its own, spaces built inside Utopia 126 to be able to also enjoy this particular place and full of history.
Utopia 126, is a creative space used as a venue for ephemeral exhibitions but also for artistic events and mainly for filming purposes. I chose this place because it has a history, as it has been part of the Barcelona landscape since 1906, having first been a fabric factory. Although it has not been renovated, it has kept its old charm and still transmits its history. That’s why I chose this place, because being in a modern city that moves, this space seems frozen in time and by its walls tells us a story, its original history.
Beyond the sea
(2020)
Book designed for the presentation of the Beyond the sea project.
SUI
(2020)
In the course of our Fourth year in IED, we had a module about transport design. The project we had to do in groups was to propose a solution for the life post pandemic in barcelona and the new ways of moving around te city by creating a transport.
During the covid-19 pandemic, we noticed that people wants to spend more time away from the city to reconnect with nature and they also prefer to use more individualist transportation such as private cars, bikes etc. In the future, the economy of the country shouldn’t be negletected, this is why leisures should be encouraged and specific transportations should be propose to people so they could easily and safely do the activities they want.
Our proposal was to design a special transportation for active people in order to avoid mixing with the general transports and to explore the surroundings of Barcelona in a fast and easy way.
The bus will connect the city of Barcelona with its surroundings , from Forum to Zona Universitaria (following the Diagonal ) and go thourgh the Carretera de les Aïgues. The users will be able to take with them the material they need to do their outdoor activities, as bikes etc., since there will be a special space to storage them. Once their activities done, they will go back to the city center by taking again a SUI bus.
Beyond the sea
(2020)
This project was created for the module commercial space in IED. All students had the same topic ; design a new store for a cosmetic brand that will expand into the retail world.
As all prestigious cosmetics companies, it is important that it recreates itself and keeps its place as one of the best brands by being modern and moving with its time. The new challenge encountered by La Mer was to take the opportunity to have different clients but also to give to their loyal ones a new kind of product. As a matter of fact, the company will rebrand itself and expand to the fashion world. By offering to its clients new merchandise, the cosmetics brand will also give them a complete refined experience. Indeed, as its customers are buying its cosmetic products to take care of themselves it implies they take the time to do it, La Mer will then offer them an extra distinct product to make this moment even more pleasant.
For the new boutique, the design will be minimalistic and elegant using only refined materials to evoke the prestige of the brand and will be thought of as a world beyond the sea. Furthermore, the brand La Mer has been created around one main ingredient; the giant sea kelp. As it has its importance in the brand’s cosmetic world, it was essential that it was present in the new boutique in a subtle way. The research about this algae helped to understand its particularities and then to design the main Point Of Sale (POS) that will be the representation of this element.
Once the customers enter La Mer’s new boutique, they will live to the fullest their out of time experience in this refined world beyond the sea.
Chez Sang
(2020)
The objective of this project was to design a workspace for a chef in a unique location in Barcelona. The new interior design proposal had to adapt to the client’s program such as the appliances, the division of space and the desired atmosphere. The new space would be the representation of the style and character of the chef.
Lluman
(2020)
Lluman proposes a reflection on the disconnection of today’s society with nature. With this project, we want to show the evolutive process of the natural world, focusing on the irregularity of the biophilic and organic patterns that can be observed in the growth of a tree. Lluman’s goal is to reconnect humans with nature by creating a luminous garden that offers neighbors a different “green zone”.
Private Bowie
(2020)
Private Bowie is a residential project carried out for David Bowie. It was inspired and designed by the private person the artist was and not the public person we knew on stage. The areas of the flat have been thought out through his hobbies; painting, reading and collecting art. These three aspects of his private personality were the main objective and the flat was developed around them to create a personal and intimate space for the client.
Mirage
(2019)
Mirage is a project created for the Barcelona Light Festival. When we visited the space, the only sensation we felt was the desert atmosphere. In addition to its appearance, this place is empty and without any real use, so for years it has metaphorically represented a desert. My colleague and I therefore decided to accentuate this aspect even more. The aim of our project was to paint the image of nature regaining possession of the urban space with its growing dunes going over the wall. We wanted to make a reference to the fascinating and strong impact that nature can have on us and our creations. A small grain of sand can cover our cities when it accumulates and is carried by the wind.
Alternative galaxies
(2018)
This photographic project was carried out by analysing the glass. The idea behind these images was to play with the material and its properties. Here, we took advantage of the double meaning of the word “glass”, naming the glass and the mirror; the two elements used to realize the project. By playing with reflections, textures and colours (with the help of coloured light spots) we managed to create the illusion of galaxies.
Lamp it, plant it !
(2017)
Lamp it, plant it! is a project in collaboration with the studio Fragments BCN. The project is based on the customisable lamp (created by the studio) allowing the creation of the lampshade of our choice, the base being magnetic, so we can attach the selected object or creation to it and change it as many times as we wish. Lamp it, plant it! is a lampshade designed with the idea of connection with nature. It consists of a golden metal base with a plant growing all around it allowing the shadows created by the leaves to make you feel as if you were outside.
