Biographies

Marlon Bagnou Beido, founder of the design studio Warm Weekend, and Soufyane El Koraichi are industrial designers based in Paris. Graduates of ENSCI–Les Ateliers in 2020 and 2021 respectively, they share a common interest in developing new object typologies that address challenges related to resource management, thermal comfort and energy consumption.

As part of their residency, Marlon Bagnou Beido and Soufyane El Koraichi continued their research into local materials and transformation processes. Remaining true to their experimental approach, they explored object typologies through the lenses of use, energy consumption and modes of production.

Research Project at Fondation Martell

For this residency, the two designers focused on a resource characteristic of the Charente region: dimension stone sourced from the limestone quarries of Thénac. The cutting of stone blocks generates offcuts of varied and often complex shapes that cannot easily be reused in standard construction processes. As a result, they are generally downcycled as aggregate or fill material.

Rather than seeking to revalorise the material itself, the designers investigated how value might be restored through form. Using stone-carving tools, assembly techniques and colour treatments, they explored ways of transforming these discarded fragments into self-supporting furniture prototypes. Materials usually destined for landfill or low-value applications were reassembled and reinterpreted. By organising the fragments according to typologies and combining them in new ways, the designers revealed their structural and aesthetic qualities. Although non-standardised, these elements demonstrate the potential to be systematised and integrated into architectural or furniture applications.

Interim Results from the Residency

During the residency, the objective was not to produce a finished object. The decision to create a seating prototype served primarily as a point of reference against which ideas and methods could be tested rather than as a step towards production. The scale of the chair proved particularly suitable for demonstrating and evaluating these investigations.

The project therefore explored the formal richness of raw stone materials, employing restoration techniques while drawing inspiration from familiar everyday forms.

Place within the Labo Almanach

The work of Marlon Bagnou Beido and Soufyane El Koraichi contributes to broader efforts to rethink and valorise local resources through an examination of transformation processes. Their approach reflects a methodology widely present within design education, whereby the material itself is first investigated for its technical and aesthetic capacities before any object is conceived.

Their contribution also feeds into wider societal discussions about the future of mineral extraction and resource transformation. By considering the entire production chain—including what is commonly defined as waste—the project helps broaden the debate surrounding extractive industries and their environmental, economic and cultural impacts.

Resources Involved

With the kind support of Bertrand Arcadias.

Thénac–Saintonge Quarries.