What Studio Adrien Gardere does

Studio Adrien Gardère is a Paris-based, founder-controlled design studio founded in 2000 by Adrien Gardère, specializing in museography, scenography, cultural programming, interior architecture, and product design. The firm is organized as a French SARL with €80,000 of registered capital, ~10 named senior staff plus collaborators, and offices in Paris (62 rue Tiquetonne) and New York (1501 Broadway). It generates revenue through project-based professional service fees charged to cultural institutions and museums, secured primarily via international design competitions won either independently or in consortium with leading architectural firms. Its core methodology is branded "spatial choreography" (chorégraphie spatiale): the deliberate sequencing of visitor movement, gaze, and narrative through museum spaces by integrating architecture, museography, scenography, lighting, graphics, and multimedia under a single studio. Service offerings include permanent gallery design, temporary exhibition scenography, curatorial programming, furniture and lighting product design (produced through partnerships with Ligne Roset, Cinna, Artemide, Perimeter Editions), and interior architecture for cultural and private clients.

The studio serves a concentrated base of public-sector cultural institutions, foundations, and museums across France, Europe, North America, the Middle East, and East Asia. Reference clients include the Région Nord-Pas de Calais (Louvre-Lens), the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (Toronto), the National Gallery of Canada, the Royal Academy of Arts (London), the Ministère de la Culture (Musée Franco-Américain de Blé rancourt), Qatar Museums Authority, the Aga Khan Trust, the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Project budgets for the total schemes the studio contributes to range from roughly €3.9M (Musée de Cluny) to €150M (Louvre-Lens) and €90M (Aga Khan Museum); design fees are negotiated contract-by-contract and are not publicly disclosed. The studio has built a recurring project pipeline extending to 2030, anchored by long-term consortium relationships with tier-one architectural practices (SANAA, Foster + Partners, David Chipperfield, Herzog & de Meuron, Fumihiko Maki, PCA-STREAM, OMA/AMO, ELEMENTAL, Dominique Perrault Architecture) and a long-running textile-installation collaboration with Reiko Sudo / Nuno since 2008. It has no external institutional investment and is founder-controlled, operating as an independent boutique practice rather than a scalable platform.

Name

Studio Adrien Gardere

Legal name

STUDIO ADRIEN GARDÈRE

Website

https://studiogardere.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Studio Adrien Gardère is a Paris-based, founder-led design studio founded in 2000 that delivers museography, scenography, cultural programming, and interior architecture services to public museums and foundations worldwide, typically working in consortium with tier-one architects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Museum and Exhibition Design Services

NAICS

Interior Design Services (54141)

akta.pro primary industry

Exhibition, Retail & Experiential Design (BPAHAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Museum design services
• Exhibition scenography
• Museography design
• Cultural institution design
• Interior architecture

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Museum and Exhibition Design Services: Project-based professional services for museum design, scenography, and exhibition design. Revenue generated through design fees, project management, and artistic direction contracts with cultural institutions and museums. Projects typically involve long-term engagements with major public and private cultural institutions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Studio Adrien Gardère is a Paris-based design studio offering an integrated portfolio of services spanning museography, scenography, cultural programming, product/furniture design, and interior architecture. The studio fundamentally designs and plans permanent museum galleries and temporary exhibitions for major cultural institutions worldwide, choreographing spatial sequences and visitor experiences that create dialogue between architecture, collections, and interpretive content.

Product overview

Studio Adrien Gardère is a design studio offering an integrated portfolio of services in muséographie (museography), scénographie (scenography), design de produits (product design), architecture intérieure (interior architecture), and programmation (cultural programming). Founded in 2000, the studio works across museum design, temporary exhibitions, furniture and lighting products, and interior architecture projects. The core offering centers on spatial design services for cultural institutions, with product design as a complementary line produced through partnerships with major furniture manufacturers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Muséographie (Museography) Design and planning of museum permanent collections and exhibition spaces, including spatial layouts, visitor pathways, display systems, and interpretive content, offered to museums and cultural institutions.
• Scénographie (Scenography) Exhibition design and art direction for temporary exhibitions, creating immersive spatial narratives and choreographed visitor experiences for galleries, foundations, and museums.
• Design de Produits (Product Design) Furniture and lighting design services, including pieces produced in partnership with brands such as Ligne Roset, Cinna, Artemide, and Perimeter Editions.
• Architecture Intérieure (Interior Architecture) Interior architecture and design for private residences, commercial spaces, and cultural venues, with projects ranging from private homes to museum interiors.
• Programmation (Cultural Programming) Cultural programming and curatorial planning services for museums and cultural institutions, including exhibition narratives and spatial concepts from feasibility through opening.

Quantifiable outcome

• Museum projects managed with budgets ranging from €3.9M to €150M, demonstrating ability to execute projects at various scales
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Foster + PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Studio serving as Memorial Curator on the Queen Elizabeth II National Memorial project led by Foster + Partners at St James's Park, London. Also collaborated on Narbo Via museum project.
• OMA / AMOmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Studio served as Scenography Advisor for Qatar pavilion exhibition at Osaka Expo 2025, working with OMA/AMO and creative direction from Qatar Blueprint.
• Hoshino ResortsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Studio serving as Museography Supervisor for Nara Prison Museum opening in 2026, working with artistic director Taku Satoh and Azuma Architect & Associates.
• Dominique Perrault ArchitecturemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Collaboration on Musée Ecole Giacometti project (2023-2026) where Dominique Perrault handles building rehabilitation architecture and Studio Adrien Gardère provides musuography consulting.
• VOGT Landscape ArchitectsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Collaboration on Art Mill Museum project where Studio Adrien Gardère works with VOGT Landscape Architects on the 157,781 m² museum complex and cultural district.
• Herzog & de MeuroncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Collaboration on Lusail Museum programming (2022-2023) and Centre Pompidou Francilien project. Studio provides musuography consulting for Herzog & de Meuron's museum designs.
• PCA-STREAMmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Collaboration on Centre Pompidou Francilien (Fabrique de l'Art) project where PCA-STREAM provides architecture and Studio Adrien Gardère provides musuography programming for the conservation and creation center.
• Taku Satoh / TSDOmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Collaboration on Nara Prison Museum project where Taku Satoh serves as artistic director and Studio Adrien Gardère provides museography supervision.
• Atelier NovembremajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Won international competition for Grand Musée Rolin at Autun (2020), where Atelier Novembre provides architecture and Studio Adrien Gardère handles museography.
• Diller Scofidio + RenfromajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Studio served as musuography consultant during competition phase for V&A East Storehouse in London, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Austin-Smith:Lord.
• ELEMENTALmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Studio serving as museography design consultant for Art Mill Museum in Doha (2019-present), the future international modern and contemporary art museum designed by ELEMENTAL.
• Alessandro Ripellino Arkitekter + Luigi Pardo ArchitettimajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Won international competition for Swedish Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai (2018) as collaborative team providing architecture and scenography for the 2,000 m² pavilion.
• Bien UrbainmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2018Partnership on multiple Paris museum projects including Musée des Arts Décoratifs Fashion Galleries renovation and Louvre-Lens interior fit-out.
• ACL (Alexis Coussement Lighting Designer)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2018Ongoing collaboration on museum lighting design projects including Musée des Arts Décoratifs Fashion Galleries, Musée Franco-Américain de Blérancourt, and Cité de l'Architecture exhibition.
• Bernard Desmoulin ArchitectemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Collaboration won competition for Musée de Cluny redesign (2016-2022), where Desmoulin provided architecture and Studio Adrien Gardère handled museography redesign.
• David Chipperfield ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Collaboration for the Royal Academy of Arts renovation in London (2014-2018), where David Chipperfield Architects handled architecture and Studio Adrien Gardère designed all permanent collection exhibitions.
• Maki and Associates (Fumihiko Maki)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Partnership for the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto (2012-2014), where Maki and Associates provided architecture and Studio Adrien Gardère handled all exhibition design, multimedia coordination, graphics, accessibility and lighting.
• CL DesignmajorTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2011Partnership on graphic design and signage for Musée Franco-Américain de Blérancourt and Louvre-Lens projects.
• On-SitucoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2009Long-standing multimedia technology partner for museum interpretation systems. Developed Ray-On augmented reality devices for Cluny Abbey and collaborated on multimedia installations at Louvre-Lens and Aga Khan Museum.
• SANAA (Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Long-standing collaboration on major museum projects including the Louvre-Lens (2009-2012), where SANAA provided architecture and Studio Adrien Gardère provided complete museography design for all museum spaces including the Galerie du Temps.
• Reiko Sudo / Nuno CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Ongoing collaboration since 2008 on multiple textile installations including Koinobori exhibitions at Kennedy Center, Musée Guimet, National Art Center Tokyo, Art Tower Mito, and various other venues. Seventh collaboration for Ogi no mai at Compton Verney (2020).

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kossmann.dejong: Amsterdam-based exhibition design studio with strong portfolio in narrative-driven museum and visitor center projects (Anne Frank House, Maritime Museum Rotterdam). Direct peer because both deliver storytelling-led spatial design for cultural institutions at similar scale.
• Casson Mann: London-based museum and exhibition design studio with comparable scope (British Museum, V&A, Imperial War Museum). Direct peer because both studios deliver integrated museography and scenography for major cultural institutions through consortium models with leading architects.
• Migliore+Servetto: Milan-based multidisciplinary studio specializing in exhibition design and brand spaces for cultural clients (Triennale Milano, Palazzo delle Scintille). Direct peer because both are mid-sized European studios delivering integrated scenography and interior design for museums and exhibitions.
• Ralph Appelbaum Associates: New York-headquartered museum exhibition design firm behind the National Museum of African American History, 9/11 Memorial Museum, and many similar landmark projects. Closest US-based scale peer and direct competitor for major international museum commissions.
• Atelier Brückner: Stuttgart-based exhibition design studio known for Porsche Museum, Deutsches Historisches Museum, and natural history museums. Direct peer because of comparable integrated scenography/museography practice serving flagship cultural institutions across continents.

Broad incumbents

• Pentagram: Global multidisciplinary design consultancy covering exhibition, identity, and cultural work (rebranding of MoMA, MoMA PS1, Library of Alexandria). Comparable at the broad level as a premium design practice for cultural institutions, though their work spans much wider than SAG's museum/exhibition focus.
• Heatherwick Studio: London-based design studio with major museum/exhibition commissions (Coal Drops Yard, Google Bay View, UK Pavilion Expo 2010). Comparable as a larger multidisciplinary practice doing scenography, architecture, and product design for cultural clients, though broader in scope than SAG's museum focus.
• UNStudio: Amsterdam-based architecture firm with significant cultural/museum portfolio (Mercedes-Benz Museum, Erasmus Bridge, Hanns Martin Schleyer Halle). Comparable through consortium-style work on major museum buildings where specialized museography collaborators are pulled in.

Emerging players

• Tellart: Amsterdam and Providence-based studio specializing in interactive museum installations and experiential design. Comparable through overlap on integrated multimedia interpretation systems, an area where SAG partners with On-Situ, though Tellart operates more on the technology/experience side.
• Local Projects: New York-based experiential design firm with museum and exhibition work (Cooper Hewitt, National September 11 Memorial Museum). Comparable as a peer in museum exhibition design with a stronger focus on interactive/digital interpretation rather than physical scenography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/studiogardere
• Facebookfacebook.com/StudioAdrienGardere
• Instagraminstagram.com/studioadriengardere/?hl=fr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Studio Adrien Gardere