EnsadLab

What EnsadLab does

EnsadLab is the research laboratory of the École des Arts Décoratifs, a constituent institution of PSL (Paris Sciences et Lettres) university, founded in 2007 as the first research laboratory among French art and design schools. It conducts practice-based research at the intersection of art, design, sciences, and technologies, organized across six research groups: Soft Matters (bio-sourced materials, 3D printing with bacteria, smart textiles, soft robotics), Reflective Interaction (behavioral objects, interactive installations, responsive matter), Spatial Media (virtual, augmented, and mixed reality), Symbiose (complex materials, design and care, speculative futures), Designs/Territoires (architectural and territorial design), and Plateforme Art Design Société (decolonial approaches, political anthropology of art). The laboratory's core deliverable is the PSL-SACRe doctoral program, which trains 50 doctoral students through practice-based research methodologies, with all candidates receiving 3-year funded positions. Complementary outputs include publication platforms (.able journal, liteʁal book series, Cahiers de l'Anticipation) and research chairs (Chaire VULCA on vulnerabilities and capabilities, Chaire Arts & Sciences).

EnsadLab's business model is non-commercial. It does not sell products or services; instead, it operates on public research funding from PSL university, French government sources, and competitive grants including ANR (Agence Nationale de la Recherche) and European Commission programs (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions). A significant revenue stream is CIFRE (Conventions Industrielles de Formation par la Recherche) doctoral contracts, where private companies sponsor individual doctoral research projects; documented partners include Hermès International, Balenciaga, Orange, EPPGHV (La Villette), and SIDI. Research chairs are supported by foundations including Fondation Daniel et Nina Carasso and Fondation Groupama. Doctoral candidates are the primary "customer" for the educational program, while the secondary customers are public research institutions and private sector partners accessing innovation through applied research collaboration.

The laboratory's value proposition centers on its unique positioning as France's pioneer in art-and-design research, holding the first ANR JCJC grant awarded to an art and design school (ImpressioVivo, 2024), chairing ISEA 2023, and serving as a scientific advisor to Hcéres. Its R&D engine combines deep artistic practice with scientific rigor, producing doctoral research output (17 doctorates awarded in recent cohorts) and patent-eligible innovations in bio-fabrication, soft robotics, interactive installations, and spatial computing. The lab serves customers and partners across healthcare (Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades, Institut Imagine), luxury goods (Hermès, Balenciaga), telecommunications (Orange), cultural institutions (UNESCO Creative Cities Network, La Villette), and international academic networks (MIT Media Lab, HEAD-Genève, European Commission).

Name

EnsadLab

Legal name

EnsadLab

Website

https://ensadlab.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

EnsadLab is the research laboratory of École des Arts Décoratifs - PSL, founded in 2007 as France's first art and design school research lab, conducting practice-based doctoral research at the arts-sciences interface across six research groups serving doctoral candidates, public institutions, and private partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Research and Doctoral Education in Art and Design

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Advanced Study Skills & Executive Function Coaching for High Achievers (time management, workload planning) (EDANAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Research Administration & Grants Management Support (Pre/Post-Award, Compliance) (EDAEALAO)

Keywords

• Practice-based research
• Doctoral education
• Art design sciences
• Bio-sourced materials
• Interactive installations

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Doctoral Program Funding: Public funding from PSL university and French government sources for doctoral education. All doctoral students receive funding during their 3-year thesis, either through PSL, public partners, or private sector CIFRE contracts.
2. Research Grants and Contracts: Funded research projects including ANR (French National Research Agency) grants, European funding (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions), and partnerships with private companies for specific research chairs and projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

EnsadLab is a university research laboratory that conducts practice-based research at the interface of art, design, sciences, and technologies. It runs the PSL-SACRe doctoral program training artists and designers through practice-based methodologies, organizes six specialized research groups (Soft Matters, Reflective Interaction, Spatial Media, Symbiose, Designs Territoires, Plateforme Art Design Société), and disseminates outputs through publications, exhibitions, and CIFRE-funded partnerships.

Product overview

EnsadLab is the pioneering research laboratory of École des Arts Décoratifs - PSL (Paris Sciences & Lettres), established in 2007 as the first laboratory in French art and design schools. The laboratory operates as a unified research ecosystem offering doctoral programs through PSL-SACRe and hosting multiple specialized research groups including Soft Matters (bio-materials, 3D printing with bacteria, smart textiles), Reflective Interaction (interactive installations, behavioral objects), Spatial Media (virtual/augmented reality), Symbiose (design and care, speculative futures), and the Plateforme Art Design Société (art and society studies). The portfolio includes complementary publication platforms (.able journal, liteʁal book series, Cahiers de l'Anticipation) and research chairs like VULCA, which together form a comprehensive research-to-publication ecosystem at the intersection of arts, design, and sciences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PSL-SACRe Doctoral Program A doctoral program in Sciences, Arts, Création, Recherche that trains artists and designers through practice-based research at the interface of sciences, awarded by PSL university.
• Soft Matters Research Group Research group exploring bio-sourced materials, 3D printing with bacteria, smart textiles, and soft robotics in collaboration with the SOFTWEAR European doctoral network.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50 doctoral students conducting research annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core, major and minor.

• SOFTWEAR Doctoral NetworkflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021European doctoral network (2022-2026) dedicated to soft actuators and their integration in textiles, coordinated by Aurélie Mosse from EnsadLab with European Commission funding through Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.
• PSL (Paris Sciences & Lettres)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnsadLab is the research laboratory of École des Arts Décoratifs, one of the 7 member institutions of PSL university. The PSL-SACRe doctoral program brings together 122 researchers across 7 institutions including ENSBA, FEMIS, CNSAD, and others for interdisciplinary arts research.
• Chaire VULCA (Vulnérabilités et Capabilités)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch chair focused on living with genetic diseases, involving design, philosophy, psychiatry and art. Led by Sophie Larger with scientific coordination at EnsadLab. Partner institutions include ENS-PSL and Fondation Groupama.
• Chaire Arts & SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch chair supported by Fondation Daniel et Nina Carasso, exploring intersections of arts and sciences with public and private partners.
• Hôpital Necker Enfants MaladescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare partnership with Symbiose research group for artificial skin research related to genetic skin diseases, involving Dr. Christine Bodemer and the MAGEC expert center.
• Institut ImaginecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical research institute partnership for design research on medical devices, particularly in pediatric genetics and skin conditions, with Dr. Célia Crétolle.
• Hermès InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIFRE doctoral funding for Antoine Tour's research on material transmission, within the Campus des Métiers d'Art et du Design, exploring heritage and craftsmanship.
• BalenciagamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIFRE doctoral partnership for textile research in fashion house collections, supporting doctoral research on new fashion materials.
• OrangemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIFRE doctoral funding for Camille Dauhut's research on quantum computing's implications for design, particularly cryptography and cybersecurity.
• Etablissement Public du Parc et de la Grande Halle de la Villette (EPPGHV)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIFRE partnership for Adelaide Papay's doctoral research on modeling transformations of public spaces and institutions using instrumental approaches.
• HEAD – GenèvemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-tutelle doctoral arrangement for Benoît Renaudin's research on living materials in the Lake Geneva basin, with Anthony Masure as co-director.
• Fonds national suisse (FNS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss National Science Foundation funding for Guillemette Legrand's doctoral research on climate cosmograms and imaging practices.
• European CommissionflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMarie Skłodowska-Curie Actions funding for Lingxiao Luo's doctoral research on soft actuators for textile applications within SOFTWEAR network.
• MIT Media LabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaboration with Lingxiao Luo's Radical Fibre Lab on textile and materials research.
• SIDI (Solidarité Internationale pour le Développement et l'Investissement)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSolidarity bank partnership for Natalia Baudoin's research on indigenous craftsmanship and financial services for productive communities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• MIT Media Lab: MIT's interdisciplinary research laboratory explicitly operating at the intersection of art, design, sciences, and technology — directly comparable to EnsadLab's research philosophy and a confirmed collaborator on the SOFTWEAR doctoral network.
• Central Saint Martins (UAL): Major UK art and design college within University of the Arts London with applied research activity at the design-science interface — a broader incumbent with overlapping practice-based research capabilities.
• Royal College of Art (RCA): UK's only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, with a substantial research portfolio bridging design, sciences, and technology — a larger and longer-established analog to EnsadLab's research-intensive art and design school model.
• Parsons School of Design (The New School): US-based design school with research labs at the intersection of design, technology, and social impact — a larger incumbent offering comparable interdisciplinary practice-based research to EnsadLab.

Regional players

• Folkwang University of the Arts: German arts university combining fine arts, design, music, and applied research with science and technology integration — comparable European peer operating a research-driven art and design school model.
• Aalto University — School of Arts, Design and Architecture: Nordic university combining art, design, and architectural research with strong science and technology integration — closely comparable to EnsadLab's interdisciplinary research positioning, though serving primarily the Finnish/Nordic market.

Direct peers

• IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique): French public research institution affiliated with the Centre Pompidou that bridges contemporary music, acoustics, and computer science — closely analogous to EnsadLab as a publicly funded French research lab at the arts-sciences interface.
• Goldsmiths, University of London: UK university renowned for research-led arts, design, and humanities programs with strong practice-based research — comparable to EnsadLab's doctoral training and creative research outputs.
• HEAD — Genève (Haute École d'Art et de Design): Swiss art and design school with active practice-based research and a confirmed co-tutelle doctoral arrangement with EnsadLab — directly comparable institution operating at the same arts-design research level.
• Le Fresnoy — Studio National des Arts Contemporains: French national studio combining contemporary art production with new technology research and postgraduate training — the closest French analog to EnsadLab's practice-based research model at the arts-technology interface.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ensadlab
• Instagraminstagram.com/softmatters_ensadlab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ensadlab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 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 EnsadLab