Exhibition - Le Laboratoire Maxime Old: when our students reinvent furniture at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen
RETURNED 06 - Situation
- School life
Until January 5, 2026, Rouen's Musée des Beaux-Arts is hosting a major exhibition dedicated to Maxime Old, an architect, cabinetmaker and decorator renowned for his emblematic contributions to the city. This retrospective highlights his work and influence in the field of decorative arts.
An innovative partnership with the École nationale supérieure d'Architecture de Normandie
In parallel, the S6 Situation workshop, led by Sophie Cambrillat, Dominique Lefrançois and Kacha Legrand, engaged 3rd-year students in an original project: to design furniture inspired by the work of Maxime Old, adapted to the museum's contemporary uses. The furniture created questions postures, interactions and uses in a public museum space.
Modular creations to rethink the museum as a living space
The students imagined modular, flexible pieces - chairs, sofas, drawer units - that promote conviviality, equality of speech and invite discovery. Inspired in particular by the African palaver chair, this furniture invites a renewed museum experience, where space becomes a place for exchange and sharing.
"Le Laboratoire Maxime Old
The museum has created "Le Laboratoire Maxime Old", a dedicated space displaying the furniture, models and documents resulting from the collaboration with ENSA Normandie. This laboratory is an invitation to rethink the functions of the museum through the prism of student creation and the dialogue between past and present.
Teaching team: Sophie Cambrillat (architect), Dominique Lefrançois (sociologist) and Kacha Legrand (visual artist)
Student team: Hippolyte Alix, Arthur Bossard, Fannie Cabrespine, Tessa Debas, Onésime Doffagne, Axelle Donnet, Margot Gaillard, Camille Giraudon, Baptiste Harang, Zoé Joseph Dit Choisnard, Axel Laguerre, Louis Lanier, Clémence Martin, MERGAULT Charlotte Mergault, Camille Navarro, Thibaut Peuvrel, Lujin Sahloul, Corentin Terzi
Visual ©Sophie Cambrillat
All the information about the exhibition HERE