Marcel Gascoin

Background

Marcel Gascoin (24 August 1907 - 29 October 1986) was a French furniture designer born in Le Havre, where his father and grandfather were mariners. Wikipedia says that as a boy he was drawn to the precision of a boat's interior, and GUBI links his later work to his childhood fascination with compact, efficient nautical interiors. He studied interior decoration at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs and trained as a carpenter and cabinet maker in Le Havre.

Signature Style

Gascoin specialised in modular storage units and matching sets of furniture, and Wikipedia credits him with the idea of adapting the container to the content. GUBI describes clean aesthetics and functionality, a love of wood and a democratic design that joined art and industry through rational manufacturing.

Notable Works

• Comera (1945), the company for rational furniture that became Comera Cuisines
• ARHEC (1949) and Rangement Gascoin, for furniture sets and storage units
• The pièce à vivre living-room concept shown at the Logis 49 fair in Paris
• The C-Chair Dining Chair of 1947, produced today by GUBI

Legacy

Gascoin was a member of the Union des Artistes Modernes. Wikipedia names Pierre Guariche, Joseph-André Motte, Jacqueline Lecoq, Antoine Philippon, Pierre Paulin and Michel Mortier among the designers who came out of his studio or workshop.