No Holds Barred

Outspoken designer Jean-Marie Massaud talks about the need to take risks and developing his most ambitious project ever.

- Jasmine Tay

French designer and architect Jean-Marie Massaud calls himself an “old millennial boy” – and indeed, at the age of 51, he still has the temperament of a younger, experiment-driven generation. Trained as an engineer but drawn to the flexibility and freedom of design, he has a catholic penchant for projects that sees him leaving his mark on products as diverse as submarines, perfume bottles, cars and furniture. Massaud, who’s in town to celebrate Space Asia’s 16th anniversary, has an eccentric mind that is at once curious, distracted and hyperactive; during our hour-long conversation, he jumps from topic to topic, taking a breather only for a sip of coffee.

His energy and creative vision have led renowned furniture brands to seek him out, giving birth to sleek, organic pieces, such as the Inout lounges and cloud-like Wallace Chair with Cappellini and Poliform respectively, that gained Massaud a following among home design pundits.

The Peak sits down with the famed designer as he spills the beans on his latest collaboration with Poliform, why his mind is like a Mentos and his wackiest design project ever.

How do you rate furniture design, against the other types you’ve done?