Designer stories: Studio Besau Marguerre

This past year has been a bit of a whirlwind for this multi-discplinary studio but Eva and Marcel kindly took time to have a chat with us and also sent us some images of their favourite experimentations and projects which we are happy to share with you here.

Marcel, tell us a little about the inspiration and development process for the North lights.

It all started in early 2012, when we decided to work with copper as a material. We were really fascinated it's long history, it has been used by people as a material for more than 10000 years. In each period copper has somehow leant itself to being part of high-technology and in addition to the technical aspects it also has a strong emotional response for most people.

Our first step in the project was in depth research about the material itself. We studied its history, chemical and physical properties and different traditional processing methods of copper and different alloys. 

We then went to our workshop to process the copper ourselves in different ways, experiencing its qualities. Through this combination of theoretical and practical knowledge we developed different ideas and concepts, finding new avenues to explore. One such avenue was the warm reflection of copper surfaces, where we tried different set ups with differing light sources and copper surfaces. One version was a floor lamp consisting of two simple, circular copper sheets and a LED spot which was put in between, shining from bottom to top. With this kind of construction the light is reflected twice, which creates a warm glow inside the lamp and a fantastic circular blaze in the surrounding room. We directly fell in love with this really simple, graphical solution and the blaze which reminded us of an archaic fire place.

Starting from that point E15 asked us to develop a whole collection of different lights, such as pendant lights, wall lights and floor lights in varying sizes and materials, but keeping the main visual characteristics and providing the technical and atmospherical demands and qualities for each type.

Why did you and Eva choose to work as a partnership? 

We met at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe in 2006 and started to collaborate on different projects. As we are a couple we always discuss our work all the time, we are both very ambitious and have the same attitude to work.

After graduating in Karlsruhe in 2009 and 2010 we decided to move to Hamburg to work and live there. We started with two desks in an office community in Hamburg's famous, historic "Speicherstadt“ (warehouse district), both working on our own projects and clients and then also working collaboratively. 

After a year of working like this we decdied to found our studio and move to another space in Hamburg Eimsbüttel, where we are still based now.

Is your work more informed by aesthetics or by function?

We try to understand our work as a process which brings us self-evidently to our design. We like to look closely and interact with a material, its qualities and characteristics. Depending on the progress of each project the result will sometimes be more informed by aesthetics or by function.

For example, if you look at our iridescent copper mirror we did a lot of research and experimenting, which brought us to a printing process which allows us to print nearly any pattern, graphic or typography on the copper surface in really beautiful, aesthetically appealing colours. 

The lighting series NORTH for e15 combines both aspects. In this project we started with the aesthetic qualities of light reflected by circular copper sheets as an atmospheric floorlight interacting with the surrounding space. Developing the pendant and wall lights of NORTH took for granted keeping the aesthetic aspects of our design but providing new functional dimensions the different requirements of each light.

How did you find the process of working with e15? 

We presented our stool series Nido (pictured above) at IMM Cologne in 2008, Philipp Mainzer(Creative Director at e15) saw this and was interested in producing the piece, this was our first contact with him. Then, during Eva's internship at Stefan Diez office she met Philipp a few times more and finally we decided to show e15 the prototype of NORTH last year and luckily it took its course.

You and Eva work across many disciplines as well as teaching, is this a conscious choice? Do you find this interdisciplinary approach informs your design process? 

This stems from the way in which we studied in Karlsruhe where it is vehemently encouraged to find your own way to work as a designer. The university provides very open structures for the students to study different disciplines such as graphic design, media art, product design, artistic theory or scenography.

We both have wide and varied interests and like to work across different disciplines. This way of working generates a lot of synergies, new contacts and exciting projects. Though it is sometimes hard and exhausting to do all this, it still definitely enriches us and expands our horizons.

You are based in Hamburg, why did you choose here? What do you love about it? Any recommendations for us? 

Hamburg is a fantastic city – both a small village and a metropolis at the same time. The city made it very easy for us to arrive here. Eva did different internships and assistances here in Hamburg during our studies. For this reason we already had an good professional network when we decided to make the move. One other reason was the wish to gain independence from our university in Karlsruhe and start our studio and business on our own two feet. 

We like to rent a boat at "Alster" [lakes within the city of Hamburg] and go boating through the small canals around the northern end of "Alster" – very relaxing!

Do you prefer to work in silence or noise? 

Most of the time we work in silence, notwithstanding chatter with our studio colleagues. From time to time we hear music loud or on our headphones... but one of the best sounds are the machines in our workshop creating new things.

What are you working on at the moment?

There are different projects coming up, interior photo productions, websites, workshops and lecture. We are acquiring new product projects, maybe some kind of bags … lets see... 

And lastly, If you weren't a designer what else would you be doing?

 No question. There is nothing else for us than being designers : )