2016–2014

Île Seguin, banks of the Seine, Boulogne-Billancourt

The signage for the Île Seguin – Rives de Seine neighborhood construction site further highlights the distinction between private and public interests. Regarding the urban development program for the site of the former Renault factories in Billancourt, this project aimed to create a visual language to accompany the development throughout its lengthy construction period. The goal was to convey, on the one hand, the message of Saem, the entity responsible for coordinating the urban project, and, on the other hand, that of the private investors who are constructing, and then selling or leasing, the buildings that make up the neighborhood. Each party’s communication objectives were, in fact, very different. However, in the interest of all—and especially the public—a clear yet harmonious differentiation was essential. The project therefore involved designing two visually distinct styles that could coexist, particularly when appearing on the same medium. It is the designer’s responsibility to make the differing logics of the stakeholders involved legible, and to avoid standardizing the visual languages pertaining, on the one hand, to the public interest and, on the other, to private interests. Here, a system of frames enables this distinction: orange when Saem speaks, blue when the investors express themselves. Typographic differences and variations in the signature system reinforce this distinction. Within this framework, the speakers can thus express themselves according to their needs and intentions. This principle, established for the construction site signs, is carried over to the booths and all other informational materials.
We also designed the pavilion’s scenography. Design

team — Ruedi Baur, Olivier Duzelier, Stéphanie Brabant, Simon Burkart