“Hall” stands for the hall of buildings, the urban space where they grew up and which they love.“Haus”, for the Bauhaus, the modern architects and designers they admire. The Hall Haus design studio, which enjoys crossing references, was founded in 2020 by Abdoulaye Niang, Sammy Bernoussi, Teddy Sanches and Zakari Boukhari. The first three met on the benches of the Ensci Les Ateliers school in Paris, naturally coming together in this sea of pale faces. Their common tastes and passions, end up welding their links. This quartet from immigrant families, whose heart beats to the rhythm of the “vibrations of the drums of Africa” (IAM, Petit Frère), is multiplying projects linked to their continent of origin with which they wish to get closer.
After a collaboration with Lafayette Anticipation, their participation in the Design Parade festival last year propelled the group to the forefront. For Goodmoods, Teddy talks about the success of their exhibition “Pour Ceux”, presented at the International Youth Union in September 2022, about the beginnings of the Curry Mango chair with which it all started, and about everything that inspires this duality-based collective. It’s a great way to immerse yourself in the Hall Haus mood.
“Our philosophy can be summed up in three words: the object, experience and transmission.
We were trained in the object at the Ensci Les Ateliers school and we translate it into experiences, including exhibitions. Transmission is a very important aspect of our work: we want to awaken minds and make young people understand that design, which embraces many fields, is accessible to all.
3 words to describe Hall Haus?
Our exhibition “Pour Ceux”, presented at the International Youth Union, in one of the old Tati buildings in Barbès, we presented our creations but also organised round tables and workshops which brought together a lot of people. The Design Parade in Hyères had a snowball effect and made us want to put on this exhibition, which enabled a less initiated public to get to know us better.”
“The Curry Mango chair, which we developed with Lafayette Anticipation and presented at the Design Parade in 2022. We had the idea for this seat in 2020, when we were setting up our studio. In June, we went to Brittany, with freshly bought Quechua folding camping chairs under our arms so that we could work outside, anywhere. This product, a symbol of freedom, good quality and cheap design, we wanted to revisit it. We wanted to hybridize it with Marcel Breuer’s Wassily chair, created when he was head of the metal workshop at the Bauhaus in Dessau.
A luxury piece of furniture, certainly, but just as emblematic and similar in form. In view of the machinery made available by Lafayette Anticipation, we chose milled wood, in order to get away from a too literal reinterpretation. The Curry Mango reflects our identity while speaking to everyone.”
“The colour that best expresses our identity is yellow. We knew right from the start that this would be a recurring colour in Hall Haus. We were attracted to the three primary colours of the Bauhaus, and we chose yellow, the sunniest one, which transports us to Africa, our homeland.
We came up with the Curry Mango in a more orangey yellow, in reference to the eponymous Heinz sauce we discovered at Gumbo Yaya, a soul food restaurant with waffles and fried chicken where we often had lunch.”
“The Ngor commune in Dakar, Senegal, where we were last December for a new project. This unspoilt fishing village is a unique and exotic place, where it is easy to talk to people. The Curry Mango is an armchair linked to the public space, a nomadic piece of furniture that allows these interactions. Moreover, in Africa, this culture of sitting outside and talking to people is still very present.
Les Arcades du Lac, located in the Sourderie district of Montigny-le-Bretonneux, a utopian city designed by Ricardo Bofill and dubbed the “Versailles of the common”. We started designing the Curry Mango on the banks of the artificial lake, sitting in our own Quechua camping chairs.”
“Alaska Alaska, a London-based design studio founded by Virgil Abloh. We met them recently, during a trip to the English capital. They may be discreet, but their projects have created a lot of buzz.”
Scultural chair made with cardboard, Dark is lovely by Alaska Alaska
“The Prada autumn-winter 2022 collection that we are wearing on the portrait used to communicate on “Pour Ceux” exhibition. The looks mix codes: pants protruding from trousers, wide gangster suits, technical materials… While remaining very chic.”
“Kara Walker, for her engaged works. And, Anne Imhof, who recognizes the power of youth and knows that they need to be included, to be given a voice.”
“Kylian Mbappé is a sportsman who doesn’t do things by halves. He is whole, loves to win, has confidence in his abilities and his value and carries a whole group despite his young age. He grew up in the 93 and is an example for a whole generation. For us, he represents France.
Aya Nakamura has the same qualities. Above all, she is one of the first black French artists to succeed in establishing herself with her own vocabulary. She reflects Edouard Glissant’s theory that cities like Paris, especially neighbourhoods, have this ability to invent words, to convey another language.”
“Tirailleurs by Mathieu Vadepied, released in January 2023, tells the story of a Senegalese father and son who are forced to fight in the French army during the First World War. Our friend Alassane Diong plays one of the main roles alongside Omar Sy.”
“Praise from Lord by Asap Rocky ft. Skepta whose clip is a return trip between London and New York. We like the split screen game that allows both cities to be shown simultaneously.”
“Firstly, the Charlotte Perriand retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. This architect, who went to Japan and worked with the greatest, advocated design for all, simple but favouring quality materials. Her generosity left a deep impression on us.
Secondly, the exhibition « Virgil Abloh: Figure of Speech » at the MCA in Chicago. If we are lucky enough to be working with Ikea today, it’s because of him, an architect who became the first black art director of Louis Vuitton. He opened the doors of design to racialised people like us.”
Exhibition Virgil Abloh : Figure of Speech at MCA in Chicago
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