Constance Guisset Studio turned flooring company Tarkett’s Paris showroom into a sustainable, interactive ecosystem underlining the importance of play in urban settings.

Key features 

Unveiled for Paris Design Week 2023, which runs until 16 September, the Constance Guisset-designed micro-city is installed at Atelier Tarkett in the French capital’s third arrondissement. With selections from Play, Tarkett’s circular cladding collection, Guisset conceived a seven-part series of engaging activations for the showroom’s main display space. A swing, basketball hoop, slide and ping-pong tables – where one can play against the street-level windows as pedestrians walk by – invite visitors to conceive the possibilities of Tarkett vinyl, linoleum and carpet tiles. ‘We tried to show how versatile Tarkett flooring is and how we can play with an array of floor solutions in very different spaces and in everyday situations,’ explains Guisset. She employed a palette of salmon pink, neon yellow, black and white, which work together to lively contrast against the permanent navy blue finishes of Atelier Tarkett. 

The temporary installation illustrates concepts formulated by Tarkett and Guisset in the PlayBook, an accompanying guide for using the company’s products to sustainable and wellbeing-promoting ends. In it, one can explore Guisset’s holistic vision for agile urban environments that, in the designer’s words, ‘show that conception and recycling are equally important.’

FRAME’s take

Products are to spaces what ingredients are to a meal – using low-quality additions can totally compromise the end-result. In the same way you wouldn’t put unhealthy food into a nourishing meal, it’s counterintuitive to expect sustainable spaces to arise from unsustainable designs. Tarkett and Constance Guisset’s collaboration amplifies this important idea, a critical reminder in the context of a temporary event like Paris Design Week. The Play installation also makes clear the importance of versatility to the sustainability equation, by encouraging different ways of using commercial environments and inspiring a fresh, playful perspective of urban space. Brands can leave a much greater impact during industry fairs by similarly using their real estate to communicate values over stand-alone products.