Barreau et Charbonnet

What Barreau et Charbonnet does

Barreau et Charbonnet is a Nantes-based design studio founded in 2011 by Nicolas Barreau and Jules Charbonnet, both born in 1986. The studio operates as a privately-held partnership and creates architectural-scale art installations, scenography, and interior architecture for public cultural buildings across France. Its portfolio includes more than 100 projects, ranging from sculptural installations and temporary pavilions to interior fit-outs and furniture design for museums, universities, municipalities, healthcare facilities, and corporate clients.

The studio's technical identity is built around a designer-builder model that fuses architecture, scenography, and construction. It has developed a distinctive practice of working with sediment (vase) from riverbanks and marshes, codified across projects such as V.A.S.E., Panta Rhei, and Tribu Loire, alongside traditional techniques including bent-wood (bois courbes) construction and bell casting. Reclaimed materials (cables, steel rails, sheets, ventilation ducts) are routinely reused, giving the studio a sustainability-led material vocabulary that distinguishes it from conventional design firms.

The business model is project-based, with revenue generated through three streams: artistic installations (one-time commissions), interior architecture and furniture for public cultural buildings (professional services), and scenography for museums and cultural festivals. The studio does not publish pricing; projects are won through public architecture competitions, direct client commissions, and festival programming partnerships such as Voyage à Nantes. Operations are delivered through a recurring ecosystem of fabrication partners including Métalobil, ECSB, Fonderie Cornille Havard, Appelle Moi Papa, and Tica Architectes et Urbanistes, allowing the two principals to scale project execution without formal headcount growth. The studio is recognized through finalist status at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2024 and Centre Pompidou Paris Rehabilitation 2023, and the Prix régional de la construction bois 2018.

Name

Barreau et Charbonnet

Legal name

Nicolas Barreau & Jules Charbonnet

Website

https://barreaucharbonnet.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Barreau et Charbonnet is a Nantes-based design studio founded in 2011 that creates architectural-scale art installations, scenography, and interior architecture for museums, universities, municipalities, and corporate clients across France.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Commercial and Institutional Building Construction (23622), Interior Design Services (541410)

SIC

General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs (1540)

akta.pro primary industry

Religious & Cultural Building Construction (Places of Worship, Museums, Libraries) (IMAFACAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Renovation, Remodeling & Tenant Improvements (General Contracting) (IMAFAAAE)

Keywords

• Architectural art installations
• Scenography design
• Interior architecture design
• Cultural building rehabilitation
• Custom furniture design

Headquarters

HQ city

Carquefou

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Artistic Installations: Design and construction of artistic installations for museums, public spaces, and cultural events. Projects include sculptures, architectural interventions, and temporary pavilions.
2. Interior Architecture and Furniture: Interior design, furniture design, and rehabilitation work for public cultural buildings including libraries, museums, and cultural centers.
3. Scenography: Event and exhibition scenography design and construction for cultural institutions and festivals.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Barreau et Charbonnet is a French design studio that designs and builds architectural-scale art installations, scenography for cultural events, and interior architecture/furniture schemes for cultural buildings. The studio blends artistic vision with construction expertise, working on rehabilitation of historic spaces, public sculptures, and temporary pavilions for museums, municipalities, and cultural institutions across France.

Product overview

Barreau et Charbonnet is a Nantes-based design studio (founded 2011) operated by Nicolas Barreau and Jules Charbonnet. The studio functions as a unified practice offering three interconnected service lines: (1) Architectural Installations—creating public art, pavilions, and sculptural works at architectural scale; (2) Scenography—designing installations for cultural events, museums, and exhibitions; and (3) Interior Architecture and Furniture—rehabilitating and fitting out public cultural buildings. The studio is known for its vernacular approach to construction, notably working with sediment (vase) in projects like V.A.S.E and Panta Rhei, as well as traditional techniques like bois courbes (bent wood) and bell casting. Their portfolio includes signature projects such as COUPOLE for Galeries Lafayette, Le Sursaut des bois courbes for Le Voyage à Nantes, and Le Quadrilogue for Forum Bois Construction 2026. The studio operates across France collaborating with architects, scenographers, and craftspeople on public commissions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architectural Installations Design and construction of architectural-scale art installations including public sculptures, temporary pavilions, and contemplative symbolic works that incorporate natural and reclaimed materials, delivered for cultural institutions, municipalities, and corporate clients.
• Scenography Design and construction of scenographic installations for cultural events, museums, exhibitions, and public spaces, including mobile scenography and event design solutions for festivals and cultural programming.
• Interior Architecture and Furniture Interior design, rehabilitation, and custom furniture creation for public cultural buildings such as libraries, museums, and cultural centers, often delivered in collaboration with architects on new construction or historic space rehabilitation projects.

Quantifiable outcome

• Finalist - French Pavilion at Venice Architecture Biennale 2024
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• YodelminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 June 2015Collaboration on Vélo Parade 2015 for Pimp my rosalie mobile scenography project
• Encore Heureux (Architecture)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Centre Pompidou Paris rehabilitation competition 2023 and previous work experience before founding Barreau Charbonnet
• Tica Architectes et UrbanistescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegular collaboration on rehabilitation projects including BU LLSH Nantes, Le Refuge de l'Arche, and Pont Transbordeur de Rochefort
• Appelle Moi PapacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration for signage and graphic design on multiple projects including BU LLSH and Le Hasard Ludique
• MétalobilcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFabrication partner for multiple projects including COUPOLE for Galeries Lafayette, La Stalle, and Le Hasard Ludique
• Ateliers PuzzleminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBE+AMO collaboration on A l'heure du crépuscule project and En avant Mâche
• Fonderie Cornille HavardcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBell foundry collaboration for Aliénor bell design and Pavillon pour les cloches de Notre-Dame project
• Born SignalétiqueminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSignage fabrication for M.A.I. Musée de l'Imprimerie project
• ECSB (Engineering)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerStructural engineering partner for multiple projects including Le Sursaut des bois courbes, A l'ombre de l'obélisque, Le Quadrilogue
• Laumaillé CampanisteminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBell expertise collaboration for Aliénor bell design project
• Studio PlageminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Fichtre and Formes Vives on Les aventures des mers de l'ouest urban furniture project

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Assemble: Turner Prize-winning London collective practicing architecture, design, and craft with an integrated design-build ethos. Comparable to Barreau et Charbonnet in its cross-disciplinary, materials-experimental approach to cultural and public-space projects.
• Studio Mumbai: Indian architecture practice working with local craftspeople and natural/reclaimed materials to deliver built cultural and residential works. Comparable designer-builder model and similar reverence for vernacular materials (wood, sediment-adjacent).

Direct peers

• Tatiana Bilbao: Mexico City-based practice with a comparable single-voice, research-driven studio profile delivering cultural and public projects. Similar trajectory of small-studio-to-recognition within international architecture circles.
• Lina Ghotmeh — Architecture: French-Lebanese contemporary architect with a comparable small-studio profile, cultural-institution focus, and material-research-driven design language. Operates at a similar scale and project-type band as Barreau et Charbonnet.
• Tica Architectes et Urbanistes: French architecture practice collaborating regularly with Barreau et Charbonnet on rehabilitation and cultural projects including BU LLSH Nantes and Le Refuge de l'Arche. Comparable scale, complementary designer-builder profile in the French public architecture market.
• Construire: Paris-based architecture firm where co-founder Jules Charbonnet worked before founding the studio. Comparable small-scale French practice working at the intersection of architecture and scenography/cultural projects.
• Naço Architectures: Paris- and Buenos Aires-based architecture studio where co-founder Nicolas Barreau trained. Similar studio scale and ethos around contextual, material-driven design for cultural and public commissions.
• Encore Heureux: Paris-based architecture studio with overlapping practice in cultural building rehabilitation and scenography. Closest direct peer — the firm where Nicolas Barreau trained and with which Barreau et Charbonnet co-entered the Centre Pompidou 2023 competition.

Broad incumbents

• Lacaton & Vassal: Pritzker Prize-winning French architecture firm specializing in cultural and social-housing rehabilitation with a parallel ethos of preserving existing fabric. Larger and more established, but operates in the same French cultural architecture niche with comparable material-driven approach.
• Snøhetta: Large international architecture and design firm with a major cultural-institution portfolio (museums, libraries, public pavilions). Operates at vastly greater scale but addresses the same French and international cultural commissioning market Barreau et Charbonnet targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/barreaucharbonnet

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Barreau et Charbonnet