General Meeting of Atelier LUMA's designers and stakeholders

In May 2018, as part of LUMA Days #2, a forum of art and ideas, entitled Hospitality, Searching for Common Ground, we invited local and international experts, scientists, artists, thinkers, and activists to converge with the general public to share ideas and experiences around topical issues.

While hospitality is a fundamental value of any culture, this timeless and universal subject, often synonymous with harmony, seems to be gradually losing its strength, until recently it has taken on the opposite resonance. This second edition of the LUMA Days has questioned the notion of hospitality through several topical themes such as climate change, design, territorial resilience, heritage, culture, the foreigner and the identity.

For this occasion, Atelier LUMA, the design research programme of LUMA Arles organised its first assembly in order to present the different projects developed by the team to the actors and designers associated to this think tank.

About Atelier LUMA

Atelier LUMA was established by LUMA Arles in 2016. Drawing on Maja Hoffmann's vision to create an interdisciplinary centre of innovation in Arles, Atelier LUMA acts as a think-tank, workshop, production space, and network for learning. 

Through the mapping of the natural resources, the know-how and the talents present in its bioregion, Atelier LUMA imagines innovative and sustainable ways to better use and value them.The research, experimentations, and reflections led in the “atelier” strive to rethink the future of the Arles region and enhance its revitalization.

Atelier LUMA brings together professionals and specialists from all over the world—including designers, architects, craftsmen, engineers, and botanists—who gather every day to provide local solutions to global issues. Central to their approach are the greater implementation of circular economic practices, a further engagement with nature and community alike, and the use of design as a tool for transition.

The projects initiated in 2016 led to the creation of new materials such as bio-laminates made of agricultural waste generated in the region, polystyrene derived from Camargue sunflower leftovers, and even electronic paper. The research also explored alternate uses of salt, stones, local colors, and the appreciation of skills and knowledge present in the territory. The exploratory work on these materials and resources is ongoing.   

In autumn 2018, new projects enriched the workshop's research programme: Atelier LUMA researchers and associate experts are particularly interested in the development of degradable earth concrete, the braiding of Camargue rice straw and the mapping of other local resources such as clay and ornamental plants. The social dimension of the Atelier LUMA project is also reinforced by the reflection undertaken around the collaborative cooking project.