Wood, cork, bronze, ceramics: the Made in Situ design exhibition takes over the Mobilier National in Paris

Wood carved, black ceramics, slate, burned cork, bronze or azulejos: from October 9 to November 29, 2026, the Made in Situ design exhibition takes over the Galerie des Gobelins at Mobilier National in Paris. Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance brings together seven collections shaped by places, materials and artisanal know‑how.

Where does a piece of furniture come from? Who made it? And why that material rather than another? With Made in Situ, designer Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance returning to the origins of creation. From October 9 to November 29, 2026, he will occupy the entire Galerie des Gobelins du Mobilier national with the seven collections developed over the course of this project, pursued for almost seven years.

The idea? To spark design at the crossroads of a territory, a material and artisanal know-how. A approach the designer calls "site-specific design," fed by observation, dialogue, and work conducted up close with the artisans.

Bois, liège, bronze, céramique : l’exposition design Made in Situ investit le Mobilier national à Paris — NunoSousaDias

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The exhibition brings together for the first time the seven ensembles of Made in Situ in their entirety. Barro Negro draws on soenga, an ancient technique of firing ceramics directly on the ground. Xisto explores the qualities of slate from the Côa Valley in northern Portugal, while Caretos channels the energy of Iberian Peninsula traditions through ten carved wooden stools.

Burnt Cork looks at how cork endures fires that periodically sweep through Portugal, while Bronze and Beeswax pairs bronze with beeswax. Oak and Cork explores the raw qualities of the wood from the Massif des Maures, while Azulejos reinterprets the famous Portuguese painted tiles as a tribute to the ocean. From one collection to the next, the materials guide the forms as much as they tell the landscapes and the know-how from which they come.

The design exhibition also sets the eras side by side. Each collection dialogues with historic pieces from the Mobilier national, chosen by Hugues Jacquet, historian of crafts and scientific curator. Pulled from storage, these objects echo and contrast with contemporary creations.

All of them maintain a link to nature: represented, transformed, or domesticated in historical collections; used as a material and starting point by Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance. The route thus lets visitors observe different ways of thinking, working with, and transforming material over time.

Based in Lisbon since 2017, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance pursues a practice that sits at the crossroads of furniture, objects, and interior architecture, with a constant focus on materials and workmanship. He has collaborated with Hermès, Dior, Ligne Roset, and Saint-Louis, and has conceived projects for Sketch in London and Air France lounges. His work around Made in Situ has already found a place in public collections: Barro Negro, scenographed by Clémence Farrell, recently joined the Centre Pompidou’s holdings.

At the National Furniture, Made in Situ thus lays out the full logic of the project: looking at the objects, of course, but also understanding what happens upstream of the design, where material, place, and the artisanal gesture intersect.