The Toulon Design Parade takes place from June 28 to 30: discover our favorites

In a stormy context, marked by the governance crisis at Villa Noailles, the Design Parade nevertheless took up residence in Toulon, with the interior design competition installed in the former bishopric.

The ten finalists were selected by a jury chaired by Harry Nuriev, designer and founder of Crosby Studios.

Their only constraint: respect the theme "A living space on the edge of the Mediterranean." Without claiming to be the jury's expert, we offer a focus on four rooms that particularly caught our attention, in the humidity and heat of the former bishopric.

"Temperarium" vision of the future

In his installation, whose windows overlook the Cours Lafayette, Raphaël Boursier Devignes invites us on a journey into the future. In 2055, to be precise, as indicated by a digital clock displaying an outside temperature of 50°C.

"The observation is that tomorrow, we will live with higher temperatures and rising energy prices. How can we work with these constraints to develop the Mediterranean space of the future?" asks the designer.

He thus takes the gamble of using technical materials: raw insulation, solar panels, cork... A work at the crossroads of design and engineering.

"Everything works in synergy: the light is captured by the solar panels, installed inside because high temperatures could burn out the circuits. This light is reflected by the insulation, which in turn powers the lights."

"The Villa of Echoes", an ode to nature

In his approach, Thomas Takada settled at the Villa Noailles and drew on everything he could find in the environment to create his piece.

"Everything had to be interdependent between natural materials and metal profiles. For each structure, it doesn't hold up without metal, but neither does it hold up without plants," he emphasizes. The best example is his chair, whose leaves are woven with wire. His bed is made from a blanket of dead leaves.

"My approach is a direct reaction to a feeling of alienation in the face of increasingly complex building materials, whose origins are unknown and whose meaning is changing. It is therapeutic, to try to rediscover a connection with the earth, with our feet in our environment."

"The Summer Workshop" immersion in the daily life of an artist

To create her play, Marie Gastini created a character.

"It's the story of a painter who shut himself away in a room of his house for an entire summer, searching for the subject of his next painting. He fills this space from floor to ceiling with his palettes. There's a whole frenetic process of searching for colors," she explains.

Rather specialized in textiles and knitting, she tried different techniques to create this universe: ceramics, wood-fired cooking, use of plaster that she spread herself on the walls and the floor, like an artist's color palette.

"Aquatic Life" Provençal version

In a deliberate nod to the Wes Anderson film, of which he is a fan, Malo Gagliardini presents, with The Life Aquatic , a kitchen where 15x15 floor tiles adorn the floor and walls. "It's a kind of kitchen-laboratory. We find the imagery of the workbench, a bit like at school," he explains.

The fires are powered by removable cables, and scientific test bottles are hung on the wall to water the plants. A protean universe that fulfills the specifications by blending science and Mediterranean customs.

Festival Design Parade runs from today through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Then, from July ^1st to November ^1st , Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.