ATELIER D'AMIS // Rooted in the Spirit of Collaboration, Atelier d'Amis strives to create pieces that go beyond luxury furniture to become pieces of conversation for the home.

LAISSE BÉTON
Designed by Sébastien Léon & Valérie Pasquiou

"An X-ray of structural elements, floor after floor", Sébastien Léon

"Concrete is the raw material of New York", Valérie Pasquiou

"Between Now & Then", a sound sculpture by Sébastien Léon

Absolute readymade you float before my eyes / I vanish in your shade, you glitter against the sky / I sink into your arms sheltered from any harm / Vertical glass and mirror balanced on thin air / Sixty eighth floor elevator, stackable furniture.

Laisse Béton, the inaugural Atelier d'Amis collection, was designed by French New Yorkers Sébastien Léon and Valérie Pasquiou after observing the never-ending turmoil of New York City's streets, constantly torn apart by constructions sites. "There is a certain beauty and unity in the architectural skeleton of construction," observes Sebastien Leon " which offers a stacked X-ray of structural elements, floor after floor." For Valerie Pasquiou, "concrete is the raw material of New York by excellence, which I felt should be glorified by bringing it to the world of fine furniture".

The design duo chose to reinterpret rebars into legs, grids into tables, pinion elevators into armoires and cleverly infused the vocabulary of construction throughout their collection. Sébastien also brought his tubing language from his sculptural work - in particular his sound sculptures - which naturally meshed with the pieces. Material-wise, Atelier d'Amis selected ultra-thin and resistant concrete-finish ceramic plates with brass plated tubular steel, marrying the worlds of industrial, contemporary and high-end furniture.