Following an "archiband" of five designers and architects on their "archivisits", in search of "archibeau"... Accumulation is in fashion, it seems. Also, the repetitive "archi" should not divert from the Paris Première decoration magazine with which it is associated, so clever and cheerful is this weekly decoration appointment.
Clever, first, in its programming. Always orchestrated by illustrator Zoé de Las Cases, season 2 returns for a Sunday and spring broadcast of twelve episodes, right at the time of the big spring cleaning and small interior fittings. Smart, then, because its sections have been able to adapt to changes in our society.
Thus, the "shopping spree" in rather Parisian, chic and trendy boutiques gives way to "Archibroc", a stroll among objects and furniture at affordable prices - like, in the first episode, the solidarity flea market of the neptune association, vast cave of Ali Baba installed in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis).
"Responsible" Commitment
For the rest, no innovation but adaptations. In the "archibeau weekend", Lisalou Breux (vintage look at the Stone) continues to test in all relaxation dream places - to see, if only for the pleasure of the eyes. Similarly, the meeting with a craftsman always includes a practice in a workshop: porcelain, at Faïencerie Georges, basketry, at Atelier Marie Drouet, colored concrete at The French Vikings, to speak chronologically only of first three episodes. In the commentary, the voiceover, now male, insists on their "responsible" commitment.
The "mini-visit" remains, for its part, guided by Jean Desportes, co-founder of Sloft Magazine, a biannual devoted to small surfaces hitherto surprisingly neglected by decoration magazines. For this new edition, the perky, teenage-looking architect has reduced the size of the apartments visited (from 9 square meters to 50 square meters) and begins with a 15 square meter, where bedroom, kitchen and living room each find a visual identity thanks to polycarbonate partitions, an aesthetic and inexpensive transparent plastic. Admittedly, this is not always the case. Nevertheless, all the mini-tours are worth seeing (season 1 is available on MyCanal), as they push the walls and teem with ideas.
Ditto for the far too short column by Damien Pierre, design specialist from 1950 to 1970 and creator of The Good Old Dayz site, which bounces on an element of the decor of the mini-visit – here, the mesh armchair designed by Niels Gammelgaard for Ikea in the 1980s. But it can also tell the story of a Dino neon light, a Serge Mouille wall light, Jean Prouvé's No. 4 chair or the Togo low chair by Ligne Roset...
Nothing to add or take away from the chronicle of David Abittan, a graduate in architecture and specialized journalist, who encourages the viewer to look up and take an interest in the buildings of his daily life. With enthusiasm: after having defended, in season 1, the "urbanism of slabs" of the Olympiades district, in Paris, and of La Part-Dieu, in Lyon, he will take us to the Parc des Princes, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris , at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (8th), or on the green roofs of the Beaugrenelle shopping center (15th), to "reconcile the city and nature": dreamy…
