HEMICYCLE CONFIDENT - PHILIPPE NIGRO, LIGNE ROSET, LE MOBILIER NATIONAL

Designer: Philippe Nigro

Editor: Ligne Roset

Materials: Welded tubes, lacquered metal, Vidard fabrics

Dimensions: 78 x 145 x 90 cm

Date: 2020

• The Mobilier national's mission is twofold: to furnish official buildings and to embody the symbol of French design at the cutting edge of innovation. Almost 40 years after Pierre Paulin’s Pumpkin for the Palais de l’ Elysée, Philippe Nigro was handed the baton and designed Hemicycle, developed by the Mobilier national research and creation workshop (ARC, initiated in 1964 by André Malraux) and Ligne Roset.

  While the name can be interpreted as a playful nod to the semi-circle of the French National Assembly (in the Palais Bourbon, where current affairs have been debated over since 1798), it also refers to the unique geometry of this piece. Equally suited to governmental institutions, public places or private living rooms, the S-shape of Hemicycle is rooted in the Second Empire, when such “confidant” chairs were favoured for discreet conversations. 

  Ligne Roset manufactures and commercialises the Hemicycle collection, comprising four designs. Founded in 1860, the family-owned company started manufacturing upholstered furniture in 1936. The brand Ligne Roset has since been collaborating with over 70 designers, manufacturing upholstery, cabinet, and accessories collections as a global player all over the world.