Studio Henry is an architecture and interior design studio based in Paris, France, founded by designer Charles-Edmond Henry, serving the fields of architecture and urban space, focusing on customized design and functional Spaces with multi-functional properties.

Yinjispace:  Since the time you were born, studied and worked in Paris, how has Paris influenced your design style?

Charles-Edmond Henry:  It is true that I had the luck to be born and raised in Paris. The city is a part of me and I fell really like it’s my hometown. Still, it is a very cosmopolitan city and you have an international scene. That’s great for that.  Therefore, the day I graduated my architectural degree, I left Paris for my first professional experience, in Shanghai, China. And that was such a great experience to discover those new grounds. After Shanghai, I relocated to New York City, USA and worked in a well-known architecture practice for 4 years. I would say that my design style is for the most of it influence by the travels I made around the world. I find inspiration everywhere. 

Yinjispace:  We noticed that you are still teaching at ESA Paris, how does the teaching work help for your design?

Charles-Edmond Henry: Teaching is for me very close from my daily practice at work. I see it like an exchange of ideas and experiences. It’s a give and take cycle. Student projects are full of energy and pure creativity. Sometime a kind of poetry show up and it became magical. Its very similar to what a good project should be. 

Yinjispace:  As you began your architectural career in collaborations with renowned architectural firms. Which firm has the greatest influence on you? What's the impact?

Charles-Edmond Henry:  I had the chance to work with architects that where really mastering the practice. It’s always amazing to see worldwide scale architects and see that still doing it quite smoothly. It’s about breaking the complexity of a project to make it abstract and simple object. At this point, drawing a chair can become as challenging as drawing a stadium. With my experience at Sanaa, I learned that the simplicity is the most difficult thing in Architecture. All the architects I worked with before starting my own practice were drive by passion and a curiosity. 

Yinjispace:  Studio Henry often customized spatial situations for specific places, could you briefly explain how do you achieve it?

Charles-Edmond Henry:  When our team start to work on a new space, we consider it as a blank canvas. We consider all the constraint, we make the best of it in term of spatiality. Studio Henry want to create spaces that are generous and giving. 

Yinjispace:  As studio Henry work on major projects worldwide, how do you see the different requirements for design in different regions, and what is the focus of your projects for different regions?

Charles-Edmond Henry:  It is very important for us to well understand the habits of a country when we conceive a space. Especially for retail space where the consumer habit can be very different from one country to another. You don’t do the same cash desk in Hong-Kong or in Saint-Tropez. I usually travel myself to the site at the really beginning, make a visit and discuss with local actors. Listening, observing life and local usage is very important to us. It’s also very inspiring. 

Yinjispace:  Could you kindly share with us how do you draw design inspiration from daily life?

Charles-Edmond Henry:  It's a simple daily practice. Drawing sketches and ideas. Reading. Discussing. If you are passionate with what you do, it’s quite a natural thing. Traveling give me even more inspiration, but watching a painting or a picture works well too. It’s about letting your mind escape for a moment to a new direction. 

Yinjispace:  Notice that the colors used in your work are quite bold, how do you achieve bold colors without being obtrusive?

Charles-Edmond Henry:  Colors is something that require a lot of work to find the right adjustment. We do a lot of iterations on our drawing to finally find the right balance. We tend to use natural material that have natural embedded colors and textures. Stones are amazing for that. 

Yinjispace:  We notice that Studio Henry is currently in charge of developing Zadig & Voltaire's global architecture concept. How did you help Zadig & Voltaire's brand image improve through design?

Charles-Edmond Henry:  I think our biggest improvement is setting a mood and material that works on a global world scale, with local adaptations. It need to be rather simple as you need to build the same concept everywhere, with the same approaching materials. We use travertine as a main feature for Zadig & Voltaire. The Travertine is slightly different from one country to another and that’s a wonderful things to observe.