Lady Bug Side Table by Reda Amalou

French architect and designer Reda Amalou was born in Antony in 1963. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Architecture at the University of East London before returning to Paris to found the AW2 architecture workshop in 1997. Amalou, together with partner Stéphanie Ledoux, has achieved international recognition with AW2; the firm has been conferred the Best Hotel MIPIM award, the Green Good Design award from the Chicago Museum of Architecture, and the Best Hotel Design Travel and Leisure award, amongst others. It was a natural progression then, for Amalou to launch his own line of furniture and accessories and he established Reda Amalou Design studio in Paris in 2013.

Amalou’s aesthetic inspiration is eclectic but refined; he draws on the attention to simplicity and elegance as well as the concern with quality materials from mid-century modernism, mixing this with influences gleaned from his many projects in Asia, and what he calls the “careless stylism” of today. Pieces like the Lanka Chair (2015) exemplify the seemingly unlikely combination of Amalou’s interests—the curves of the dark oak frame have echoes Scandinavian Modern while the striking pattern and contrast of the brass rods firmly place the piece within an international contemporaneity. Another central tenant of Amalou’s product design is the fluidity of function that he builds into many of his pieces. The Dot Side Table series, for example, can be used as a side table, a stool, or ottoman—and it comes in an ever-expanding range of super au courant shades.

Amalou’s work is highly sought after and he has collaborated with well-known brands like Veronese, Baccarat, Roche Bobois, and Baguès Paris.