Marc Held
- Birthdate
- 1932
- Nationality
- French
- Occupation
- Designer, architect, photographer
Marc Held is one of the leading figures of French design in the 70s, renowned for his singular career blending architecture, design and social reflection.
Born in Paris in 1932 to a Jewish family from Central Europe, Marc Held is a multidisciplinary creator: architect, designer and photographer, he has lived through the decades with unbroken creativity and inspiring rigor. In the 60s, he founded Archiforme, his architecture and design agency, and opened L'Echoppe, a visionary gallery where he exhibited his creations alongside the best of European design.
He designed pieces that have become emblematic, such as the Chaumont suspension, conceived for his own apartment opposite the Buttes-Chaumont. His Primo Culbuto armchair, his fiberglass furniture for Prisunic and his furniture for the Élysée illustrate his ability to combine formal freedom with exacting manufacturing standards. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with major names such as Knoll, Renault, Lip, Coquet and Windstar Cruises, asserting a singular style that is both elegant and visionary. Always active, he continues to push back the boundaries of design, as illustrated by the recent construction of an earthen school in Senegal, an exemplary project combining innovation and traditional know-how.
Marc Held's work is characterized by a constant dialogue between past and present, between pure forms and poetic details. His design, both functional and expressive, explores the fertile tension between architecture and interior, between heritage and invention. Whether he's designing a piece of furniture, a house or an educational project on the other side of the world, he infuses each project with a rare, timeless energy. Sober but never cold lines, a constant search for balance and a profoundly human vision make his creations timeless.
Nurtured by a youth marked by commitment, a career rich in experience and an undiminished passion for shapes in dialogue with light, Marc Held is an essential figure in modern design, both classic and libertarian.
