Joseph Dirand

Biography

Dirand was born in Paris; his father, Jacques Dirand, was a photographer specialising in interiors and his mother was a fashion designer. He studied architecture at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris-Belleville. As of April 2014 he lived in his own restored flat in the 7th arrondissement with his partner and their two daughters from previous marriages.

Career

Dirand works in Paris. After receiving the commission while still a student to do the interior design for Junko Shimada's Paris shop, he started his own interior design firm in 1999, when he was 25, and drew public attention with his redesign of a flat facing the Place de la Concorde. After his creation of the new shop for Balmain on rue François-Ier, which has been called "the most beautiful fashion store in Paris", he came to be in demand as an interior architect for fashion companies.

Bespoke furniture by Dirand was included in the inaugural AD Collections exhibition in 2015. Later that year he held his first exhibition of his furniture, which is manufactured by craftsmen at the Ateliers Saint-Jacques and which he describes as a homage to modernist architects who are "heroes" to him, such as Carlo Scarpa, Alvar Aalto, Pierre Jeanneret and Le Corbusier.

Selected projects

Aesthetic

Dirant's style is minimalist, often monochromatic; in his early work he largely used black and white. He emphasises strong lines, classic elements, lighting, rich materials, particularly marble, and the telling detail that brings an interior to life; however, he says that he designs "spaces that are alive" rather than "locations of contemplation". His later designs characteristically use slabs of marble. In designing for retailers, he seeks to understand and reflect the "story" of the brand based on key images, typically 20 from an initial portfolio of hundreds.

Awards