Franklin Azzi / Architect
Published on 24 July 2020
As the current Maison&Objet Paris Designer of the Year, he’s preparing to present his own interpretation of workspaces through the ages at the January edition of the fair.
Self-portrait. We invite professionals from the lifestyle, culture and communications world to snap six shots that sum up their story. Smartphone in hand, they have fun revealing all the little nothings around which their world revolves. It’s time to take a peek behind closed doors.
He’s already worked his magic on the left bank of the Seine in Paris, transforming it into a pedestrian promenade, and Franklin Azzi is now part of the Nouvelle Aom consortium (Franklin Azzi Architecture, Chartier Dalix, Hardel & Le Bihan Architects) that’s behind the refurbishment of the French capital’s Montparnasse Tower. He invites us into his agency, a former warehouse in the heart of Paris, which he shares with his fifty-strong team.
Useful object
“A worker’s only as good as his tools!” Never a truer word was spoken. Our profession involves a lot of manual work, and I’ve always made sure that we use the best tools possible, be that when drawing, using computers or building architectural models. It’s a real obsession of mine!”
Futile object
“To be honest, there aren’t that many futile objects in the agency, which I see as a rational and optimized workspace. I really like this drawing of the Gio Ponti umbrella stand. In this case, it’s not the umbrella stand I consider to be futile but rather the object it’s holding! I’ve never much cared for umbrellas!”
Current crush
“The scarf we created with the artist Victoire Thierrée. It was specially designed to send out with the 2020 New Year’s greetings for the Franklin Azzi Endowment fund that I set up in 2019. Each new year, we ask an artist to give the scarf their own unique spin, creating a limited edition we then gift to our clients-come-friends.”
A souvenir
“Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited on vinyl.”
Good luck charm
“This BUNN American coffee maker. It was the first thing I bought when I set up the agency and it’s still going strong 15 years later. It’s prepared thousands of litres of coffee. I guess you could say it’s the agency’s mascot!”