Pumpkin
For the very first time, Pierre Paulin’s 1971 design for seating for the private apartments of Claude & Georges Pompidou at the Elysée Palace is being put into large-scale production. Pumpkin is characteristic of Paulin’s revolutionary style, as initiated at the end of the 1950’s, and as its name suggests is evocative of a giant pumpkin, welcoming the user with its protectively voluptuous – and voluptuously protective – shell. Resisting its appeal is an impossibility!
Base and mid-section in polyether foam 30
kg/m3 - 3,0 kPa, resting on a thermoformed
ABS base.
COMFORT
Seat and bucket-style enveloping back in
moulded polyurethane foam 35 kg/m³ - 3.2 kPa
with a 'comfort' layer in the same foam.
MAKING-UP
Covers may be removed by a professional.
Cover quilted with 100 g/m² polyester on the
seat/back, and polyether foam on the exterior of
the mid-section.
COVERS
A monocolour model, which may be made up in
either fabric or hide. Coloured wools chime
perfectly with the spirit of Pumpkin.
Born in Paris in 1927, made his début in the 50’s, known for his designs and installations (TV, Thonet, Bertrand Faure, Disderot, Artifort), he brought modernity to the Elysée Palace for President Pompidou in 1971. He designed all the furniture for the official office of François Mitterrand, and renovated the dining room for Jacques Chirac. At the same time, he founded ADSA with two associates, working on industrial projects (Calor, Allibert, Stamp) and brand image (Air France) as well as fitting-out railway stations (Gare de Lyon, Gare de Versailles Rive Gauche).
His pieces figure amongst the collections of numerous museums across the world, and various exhibitions have been dedicated to him in 2007/8. MOMA, New York has enlarged its collection of Paulin pieces.
