BOISBUCHET RESIDENCY PROGRAMME
MICHIEL HUTSEBAUT AND AARON POLLET
SEASON 2020
Boisbuchet welcomed franje (@franje) an interior architecture practice, based in Ghent in Belgium, founded by interior architect Michiel Hutsebaut. Working with the likes of Design Museum Ghent and BOZAR in Brussels, franje is about to take part in the upcoming Art & Design Fair in Ghent at the beginning of next year. As part of the exhibition they will feature design objects, an armoire, a lit à duchesse and a banque de milieu. Operating in the intersection between interior architecture and ornamentation through scenography, interior design, and furniture design, their residency was an attempt to develop their ideas for the fair, and to experiment and play with different materials and building methods.
“Boisbuchet is an incredibly inspiring place, with lots of energy, with lots of different influences. We got inspired by the materials we found here, both on the Domaine and in the workshop.”
The residency also provided the perfect opportunity for Michiel to collaborate with his partner, Aaron Pollet, to come to Boisbuchet to propel this design-and-build process. Having previously participated in the 2017 workshop Designing Effective Collaborations, led by New York-based choreographer Jonah Bokaer (whom franje has subsequently worked with), Boisbuchet offered a chance for the team to recapture a sense of mutual collaboration and to reconfigure their artistic output in the context of a global pandemic.
Working predominantly with bamboo in the workshop and on the Domaine itself, Michiel and Aaron produced a series of furniture designs (tables, chairs, stools, and experimental pieces), with each piece reflecting their time at Boisbuchet, through the use of materials found on-site, be it bamboo or a security blanket found in the workshop, and through the collaborative process the team enjoyed and fostered together.
“Our little collection of furniture really reflects our time here. It’s like a time capsule.”