Name: Sébastien Barrau 
Company: Sébastien Barrau Manufacture
Position within company: Director
Website: www.sebastienbarrau.com
Tell us a little about your background in design (education, experience, etc).
I acquired a solid experience of metallurgy in the space, aerospace and automotive industry working as a consultant for nearly 10 years.
I represented a prestigious center of expertise specialized in high-speed machining at the service of large French companies. I gradually specialised in titanium and the realisation of complex parts with high dimensional and geometric requirements.
I discovered that this eminently technical material also allows for superfinitions: beading effects, sophisticated brushing, laser staining …
This is the starting point for the creation of Sébastien Barrau Manufacture, a company dedicated to magnifying titanium to make exceptional pieces of furniture.
What direction do you feel design is moving towards in general terms?
I have always tried to marry my passions for interior design, high-tech materials and watchmaking. I realised that we were able to achieve a technological feat on something bigger than a watch. I am driven by the passion to make beautiful. What I found through these achievements: the excellence of a French savoir-faire from different in-depth fields.
I offer our customers a timeless and evocative design. About Paris, we all have a story to tell. It is a mixture of imagination, memories and passion that the technique updates in our achievements. If you want to represent the cross-section of a yacht, a face or something that is dear to you, it is possible and we will advise you in this realisation so that this piece becomes a piece of collection. Our credo is haute-couture in the furniture field.
Name five key themes to consider when approaching design in 2018 and beyond.
The object as we conceive it must have an affirmed personality, identity, it must also have retained the character due to its intrinsic qualities. In a way, keep the material in its raw state, without deposits, without coating or deep transformation to keep its original beauty and avoid overconsumption.
– Consideration of the manufacturing processes environmental performances
– Work without shape constraints
– A new design approach to combine machining and additive manufacturing
– Lighten the structures to the maximum with the help of new technologies
– Sublimate the raw material by combining the contribution of new technologies and the manual techniques of experts
Where do you feel yacht and aviation design is going in terms of schemes?
In Europe, the advanced technologies of the different countries make it possible to make this field evolve.
What projects are you currently working on?
We work on the lightest and most comfortable chair in the world combining high tech materials and timeless design. We are also working on the table of tomorrow integrating the most elaborate techniques.
If you could offer one piece of advice when it comes to design schemes, what would it be?
Integrating lattices structures (metallic foams) in our structural parts
What products/services could you not live without when designing?
Calculation of structure and mesh of a material which is completely and randomly perforated and of course a pencil
How important are The International Yacht and Aviation Awards as recognition of talent and achievement?
The recognition of our work through the expert eye of our colleagues is really important. This defines a good understanding of our research and development strategies, namely what major change we bring.
What are your aims and goals for the next twelve months?
Work in collaboration with other designers to bring their respective visions into the world of Sebastien Barrau Manufacture
Final thoughts; tell us a little more about yourself:
Your favourite place to travel to in the world?
Reunion Island for its diversity of landscapes.
Dubai for its architectural challenges.
Monaco for its sweetness of life.
Your most treasured possession?
The projects and pieces I realised
Your favourite hotel, restaurant and bar?
The suite of the hotel Le Meurice in Paris which offers from its grand terrace a magnificent view of Paris and its most prestigious monuments.
Your favourite food and drink?
Foie gras Francais & Jurançon white wine
The place that enables you to totally relax?
In front of the mountains of the Pyrenees, I have a house that brings me a sumptuous and totally soothing view
The place that gives you most inspiration?
In “Le Château des Pères”, where we have our offices today, a castle that highlights artists with monumental artworks, today you will find a hundred in the castle park.
Any final thoughts?
Thank you for this opportunity to introduce one of our productions