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Atelier Oi
"Form following function is not sufficient. For us, form must also follow emotion." — Patrick Raymond
Atelier Oï was formed in La Neuveville, Switzerland in 1991, by three Swiss designers, Aurel Aebi, Armand Louis, and Patrick Raymond. “Atelier” means workshop or studio, and “Oï” is derived from the French spelling of the Slavic word “troïka, ” which means “three. ” For over 20 years, Atelier Oï has been striving to dissolve barriers between design genres and foster cross-disciplinary creativity.
“It is a chemical function between us, a chain reaction of creativity dedicated to the project, ” explains Patrick Raymond. “For us, the project is the hero and not the ego. ”
All three designers are natives of La Neuville, a small town in the canton of Bern, near the border between the French-speaking and German-speaking regions of Switzerland. Aurel and Patrick attended the École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne, where all three designers presently teach design.
In 2009, an existing three-story motel in LaNeuville was repurposed and opened as the “moïtel” headquarters of Atelier Oï. The “moïtel” houses Atelier Oï’s studios, a materials library, a prototype workshop, office spaces, a photo studio, and a gallery dedicated to exhibition and experimentation. The team’s multidisciplinary approach to design crosses boundaries between architecture, design, and special installations, and incorporates a fusion of materials. Their clients include Louis Vuitton, Bulgari Parfums, Foscarini, Van Cleefs & Arpels, Swatch, Swarovski, Smirnoff, Nestlé, IKEA, and Danese.
Atelier Oï has received several international design awards, including the IF Design Award in 2003, the Living at Home Award in 2007, and the Product of the Year Award for the Architectural Record in 2008.
Lights Designed by Atelier Oi
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