Sandra Macaron is an award winning multidisciplinary designer whose work has been exhibited at major design events.
She has also been featured in notable publications and was awarded first prize for original luminaire design in the 2008 Robert Bruce Thompson competition in the United States.
Sandra Macaron graduated with a Master’s in Interior Architecture from the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts ALBA, Beirut, followed by an MFA in Lighting Design from Parsons, The New School, New York. She also took part of a specialized internship in industrial design at the Ecole NationaleSupérieure des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, which got her interested in the furniture world.
• My first project was, designing Mayrig restaurant Beirut in 2004 while still at Alba. Mayrig made it possible for me to understand how to concretize my ideas and opened many opportunities ahead.
• A Mélange of contrasts is how you would describe my designs.
I am drawn to the past, the vintage world; anything that has a story to tell.
I constantly try to re-invent traditions with a new fresh contemporary touch in both interior works and home/products designs.
• I am stimulated by blending vintage touches with modern feels, hence Batchig restaurant in Dbaye, my latest interior design project.
Introduced several regional/Levantine traditional features such as the hammam skylight, which adds a play of natural light and shadow to the white open space; a claustratile skin that wraps the space from inside all
the way to the outside terrace connecting the building with its surroundings; the use of old mosaic tiles and stairs that remind me the 70’s; selective vintage chandeliers found at Basta after a long hunt; old-fashioned wall paper, family picture frames, vases, and laces that revive the warmth of a grandmother’s home.
Not to forget mention the sieve like wall sconces that reflects beautiful light and shadow patterns on the white walls. The aim was to combine different sensations and experiences in one same space.
• I like sleek lines, simple gestures, raw materials, and clean spaces which denote modernism. As a Lebanese complex being, I tend to mix modern and traditional, oriental and occidental in most of my designs.
• I love trying new techniques and materials in every project. Wood, metal, concrete, marble…each material has its richness.
My latest addiction are 3-dimensional wood cuts used as wall paneling that make the walls alive and breathing. I am addicted to patterns.
• I like both colors and neutrals. The context plays a big role in the choice of the palettes.
Note Batchig restaurant, mixing all sort of colors in a neutral space, the result was a comfortable cozy eclectic feel. Whereas Khawatem boutique was more of a grey industrial space to make the jewels shine.
In residential spaces, the palettes vary depending on the clients gender and social status. Usually residential colors tend to be more sober and zen.
• I am constantly inspired by my surroundings, my travels and more specifically the historic culture and architecture that I encounter.
I wish I had lived in the 20’s, in the time of Hemmingway, Dali, Man Ray…
• A designer should always be up to date, we are living in a fast moving world, with so many new technologies and materials coming out.
• Sandra Macaron home collections are about storytelling or reviving past childhood memories.
About the latest collection:
«Between guilt’s levity and weight, the cage as a prison and a promise. A design between
Zen and discomfort, delicate, volatile and poetic»
The concept which gave birth to the Bird
Cage collection, was the image of a freedom loving bird, locked in a cage, symbolizing the ideologies and misconceptions that imprison us.
This work is a metaphorical representation of the individual facing his own confinement system, his internal boundaries, and the barriers that limit his liberty and fantasy.
Each cage is characterized in laser cut metal sheets mimicking weaved cane replacing the handmade craft to recreate our modern yet traditional society. The installation is visualized through diverse emotions and is shown in multiple positions, creating multiple play of light and shadow.
• I think interior and product design encounter the same difficulties. To recreate the imaginative into reality is the hardest. The ideas and concepts adapt and change once the production process starts.
I tend to get bored very easily, so having the choice to work in different areas of design makes it more challenging and diverse.
I think they complement each other. I would pick creating furniture/home a ware as my favorite, as it is a faster process to getting to the final idea compared to interior design.
• At first I had problems finding good manufacturers. It took me a while of testing and searching until I found the right craftsmen who fit my requirements. Not to forget the stress the manufacturers put you through over deadlines.
NB: they will never deliver on time.
• For the time being I am working on Mayrig Riyadh, amongst multiple residential projects.
On the other hand I’m preparing a new concept store for the home accessories line and furniture. I’m looking for a space in Mar Mikhael, if someone knows of any, and will hopefully be exhibiting my latest designs at 100% DESIGN in London. Fingers crossed.
For more info you can check our website:
www.sandramacaron.com
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