STUDENT CHALLENGE Forbo X ENSCI

Furniture linoleum for the contemporary working environment

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | group portrait of students

The challenge

In October 2021 twelve Master students from the Parisian Design school ENSCI - Les Ateliers visited the Forbo Sarlino site in Reims for their project kick-off.

During ten weeks French designers Pauline Esparon and Océane Delain guided them in their search for new applications of Furniture linoleum with a focus on the contemporary working environment.

With the support of Pauline and Océane, the students discovered new qualities and properties of Furniture linoleum that enabled them to present a wide range of beautiful projects.

Discover the students' projects in the tabs above.

Beyond the traditional

ENSCI, the French national institute for advanced studies in industrial design, is providing master and research-level studies. "Les Ateliers" is the school’s nickname that represents the space rather than the institution, an 11,000 sqm loft space in central Paris, previously made up of specialist crafts workshops.

“Les Ateliers” echoes the traditional values of skill exchange and complementarity necessary for project teamwork, in both creative making and creative thinking. In its educational system, the school breaks with the academic model by placing creation at the heart of the industrial design process.

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | example of lamp made from linoleum

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | prototypes on a table

Interview Pauline Esparon

Under the eye of Pauline Esparon

In 2021 Forbo Flooring published a filmed interview with Pauline Esperon in which she shares her thoughts on Marmoleum. In this conversation, Pauline describes Marmoleum as an "ambiguous" and exciting material, a unique product with an "in-between" identity. A product that is heavy and rigid, yet light and flexible at the same time, strong and with a soft, velvety expression. A material that invites to be explored.

Therefore she agreed with enthusiasm to work with the students of ENSCI in a collaboration project with Forbo. In the assignment, Pauline challenged the students to imagine new applications for the contemporary working environment using the properties of Furniture linoleum as a starting point.

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | picture of Pauline Esparon

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | students working with Pauline

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | linoleum sheets and cuttings on a table

Pauline, why did you agree to join this project with the students of ENSCI?

I accepted this collaboration because I think it’s a real opportunity for the students to work with linoleum, a material full of potential which, after all, remains standardised. For the students, it's still unexplored territory, with lots of freedom to go beyond the classic forms of the material. We really valued this intuitive, experimental approach.

Working with students means working with a real pool of creative people who are free of commercial and economic issues. They are fully involved in research and experimentation. We wanted to integrate this laboratory aspect into our teaching.

Can you tell us more about the theme?

The starting point for the challenge was the office environment of tomorrow. This choice was made because over the years it has become a fairly urgent and relevant question: what is the office today at a time when teleworking is a priority and when professional and personal spheres tend to mix. How will young creatives deal with this issue?

This topic also offered them a great deal of freedom in terms of scale and context (it could be accessories, furniture, etc). Moreover, this theme made sense in relation to the material, the linoleum desktop completely echoes the work environment: A material that is hygienic, resistant, offered in plenty colours and with a certain sensuality. So it was a very interesting match between the material and the subject.

What stands out the most about this collaboration?

The results of the projects showed great diversity in terms of the scale of application in addition to the approach of the students. Some worked on the accessories that can be found on the desk and others on what is around the desk (furniture, seating, lamps). Some explored the technical possibilities while others focussed more on the functional aspect. It was a great pleasure to work within this diversity.

It worked as a commercial collaboration would, a crossroad of all our views with dialogues and exchanges back and forth. It was together that we were able to discover the potential of the material.

It is always very pleasant to experience generosity in research. The enthusiasm that was felt during the visit to the Sarlino's premises in Reims, but also when the linoleum rolls arrived, removing the protective paper was like the unpacking of Christmas presents.

Our ambition in this project to focus on qualities and properties of the material in relation to new uses and functions, in the end, turned out to be successful.

Nino

Endless iterations

A creation by Nino Gibert

In this project, Nino’s aim was to use Furniture linoleum not only on but also as an object. He wanted to create a piece of furniture that would be conceived entirely around the linoleum material and its structural characteristics. Nino decided to design a lamp, a familiar object around the desk that can take many different shapes.

In his research, he navigated between making solid blocks of layered linoleum and creating more free shapes. In his final design, he combines the two by presenting us a lamp made with layers of linoleum and composed out of two pieces, using one single mould. The construction allows creating endless iterations in size, shapes, and colours.

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | lamp created out of Furniture linoleum

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | two lamps created out of Furniture linoleum

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | lamp created out of Furniture linoleum with light on

Malo

Making the material come to life

A creation by Malo Espercieux-Brimaud

‘Rivet’ is a collection of desk accessories for the office and for the reception desk. Instead of glue, rivets are used to attach the Furniture linoleum to a folded metal sheet.

The linoleum and the metal sheet are connected only with a few rivets leaving space in between which can be used to sort and organize papers or postcards. Due to the tension created by this assembly technique, the linoleum becomes slightly curved, thus making the material come to life.

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | desk accessory made out of curved metal and Furniture linoleum containing pens and paper

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | desk accessory made out of curved metal and Furniture linoleum containing key

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | desk accessory made out of curved metal and Furniture linoleum containing coins

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | desk accessory made out of curved metal and Furniture linoleum containing pocket knife

Auxane

A foldable, transportable desk

A creation by Auxane Labourier

Bouleau is a desk with a top made out of a roll of Furniture linoleum. This concept is the result of Auxane’s research into rollable and transportable objects and plays with the paradox of the material's flexibility and rigidity.

The first object he made based on this principle was a bag folded from one single strip of linoleum and fixated with a system of tabs. From this, the idea derived to create a portable desk with a removable linoleum top.

As a final project, Auxane designed a foldable transportable metal desk with an easy to disassemble slab of Furniture linoleum as the top. A technically complex idea, but one that demonstrates in a beautiful way the properties of the Furniture linoleum. The design illustrates the sensitivity linoleum can bring through its duality of flexibility and rigidity.

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | foldable desk with laptop and notebook

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | detail of foldable desk

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | desk and legs detached, ready for transport

Constantin

Juice, the linoleum power strip

A creation by Constantin Roulau

What is the most useful object on a desk? A lamp? A computer? A phone? It's what keeps them alive at the same time: a power strip. Cold, hidden, standardized, very useful and yet so little used. The power strip could become an object as presentable as a lamp or a chair.

Linoleum is first and foremost a floor covering, and it is the daily life of those who install it. For them, linoleum has traditionally served as their office floor. Constantin drew inspiration from their daily lives and surroundings from this preliminary and hidden world that is that of the construction site. It inspired him to create shapes, colours, atmospheres, and a name. When looking for power on a construction site, we often say “I need juice”. Here is Juice, the linoleum power strip.

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | linoleum covered power strip with multiple plugs

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | linoleum covered power strip with dial button

Corentin

My little strip of linoleum

A creation by Corentin Martin

With an extensive series of skilfully crafted prototypes, Corentin presents playful scenarios for new and surprising applications of Furniture linoleum.

In his research, he explores the possibilities of the material by constraining strips of multi-layered linoleum with a wooden clamp thus creating various shapes. Working with the linoleum strips allowed him to gain a good insight into the flexibility and resistance of the material.

With these prototypes, the behaviour of the material defines a language of form that connects the workspace with the playground. The shapes easily adapt to different situations and uses, allowing the user to simply create his own structure.

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | various prototypes in various shapes

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | prototype out of Furniture linoleum

Student Challenge ENSCI | Forbo Flooring Systems | prototype made out of strip of Furniture Linoleum

Justine

The ultimate sustainable solution

A creation by Justine Tripard

By making grooves into the linoleum, Justine was able to bend the material into tubular shapes. She experimented with different diameters, the number of facets, the folding angles and the junctions.

Based on the obtained findings Justine designed a stool that can be folded out of one piece of linoleum. The pattern has slots and tabs to lock the shape once it is assembled.

This efficient flatpack design offers the ultimate sustainable solution with minimal use of material. The faceted structure allows a rigid 3D shape while only using a single layer of 2.0 mm Furniture linoleum