Julien Renault | Deville

To mark the launch of Deville, the new outdoor range designed by Julien Renault for HAY, we spoke with the Brussels-based designer to talk process, materials, and the thinking behind furniture made for life outside.

Conceived as a versatile system, Deville includes a series of chairs and tables designed to move easily between residential and public settings. Crafted with durability in mind, the range combines robust construction with refined proportions, balancing weather-resistant materials with a light, architectural expression.

Known for his restrained, intelligent approach to form and function, Renault brings the same clarity to Deville, prioritising comfort, longevity, and ease of use without unnecessary complexity. We recently caught up with Julien and in this Q+A, he shares the inspiration behind the collection, the technical considerations of designing for the outdoors, and how Deville fits into his wider design practice.

Q+A

We’ve just received your new outdoor range for HAY in our showroom, which we are excited to showcase. Julien, can you tell us about the starting point for designing the collection, your process in developing the range, and why it’s called Deville?

I received the brief from Rolf Hay in late 2021. At that time, we were finishing the Pastis collection and starting work on the Compass lamp series.
The brief was to design “a monobloc aluminium chair that embraces the complexity of aluminium craftsmanship. The result should be visually impressive and design-driven, with a circular sustainability profile and an outward perception of durability.”

At the same time, I was renovating my studio. The office was a complete mess: I spent days demolishing almost everything, moving from one room to another with two trestles and a plank serving as a makeshift desk.

The spark for this project came after an exhausting day, when my family and I went to a very traditional and popular brasserie in the suburbs of Brussels. The restaurant is called “Maison Istas.” I have always loved the atmosphere of this place, as well as the simplicity of the table settings and their wooden chairs. I thought this could be a strong starting point: reinterpreting the classic bistro chair through the use of aluminium felt both relevant and interesting.

During the development of the project, the chair’s working title was “Istas.” However, it felt too specific and was difficult to pronounce in English, so we decided to change it. I then did some research on aluminium and discovered that Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville was the first French chemist to develop a method for producing aluminium on an industrial scale. This is how the name Deville emerged.

I also liked the fact that the name carries a double meaning: in French, Deville sounds like de ville, which means “from the city” or “for the city.”

Is it challenging to design an outdoor range to perform well in harsh environments?

Outdoor furniture is probably the type of furniture that suffers the most in terms of use. In the street, on pavements, in cafés, it constantly has to be moved, rearranged, stacked, and stored. It is also furniture that often does not belong to the user when it is intended for public spaces, so people tend to take less care of it.

Weather conditions can be challenging as well. Using aluminium is one of the answers for creating a more durable, long-lasting product.

What I like about Deville is the balance of its weight: it’s not too heavy, so it remains easy to move and carry, but not too light either, allowing it to stay grounded when the weather becomes rough and windy.

This is your fourth collection for HAY now in a relatively short timeframe. Was Deville a fun project or a long, drawn-out process? How is it developing products with HAY?

This brief started four years ago. When I read it again today and look back at the words HAY chose to describe it, I can hardly believe how close the final result is to that initial intention.

I truly believe the chair responds exactly to the request and to the way it was expressed by HAY. This project was not a side project or a playful experiment; it was a very serious one. This is evident when you look at how precisely the collection is made.

Deville appears simple, but when you look closer, the collection combines several manufacturing processes, including casting and bending, all assembled with screws and precise, almost invisible welds. Achieving this level of refinement has been a very long journey.

I am honoured to work with HAY and their incredibly dedicated team. The chairs are so close to our 3D models that it feels almost unreal to me. It is remarkable to see how HAY and their manufacturing partners were able to keep the project so faithful to the very first model.

More generally, when I look back at what we have achieved over the past six years, it feels unique. Rolf Hay has placed so much trust and resources in my work that the least I could do was fully commit and give the very best of myself in return. I now feel that all this energy was well spent.

Every collection we have developed—from Pastis to Layout, including Compass—represents a serious and strong body of work. I hope they will endure over time and receive the attention they deserve.

As a Frenchman educated in Switzerland, what was the pull to settle in Brussels?

I fell in love, while I was still a student at ECAL, with a Belgian from Brussels. We are still together 18 years later. Brussels is my city. The location is fairly quiet in terms of the design industry, but I have always appreciated this sense of calm.

I believe it is thanks to Brussels that I was able to establish my work—not in terms of industry, as I mainly work with external companies—but because it remains an affordable city for an artist.

Is there a hidden gem in Brussels that we should know about – for example, an area, building, restaurant or store?

Many places—restaurants, cafés, and brasseries—are very inspiring in Brussels. There are many beautiful spots with a great atmosphere that can spark inspiration.

It’s a very pleasant city to walk around, and I really like the architecture.

If I had to choose one place, I would say Square Coghen, where my studio is located. It’s a lovely, hidden neighbourhood, perfect for a walk among many different modernist houses.

Do you have any prized furniture pieces by other designers, or a coveted piece you would like to own one day?

I have an original Hans Coray Landi chair that I received from the antique dealer I was working with when I arrived in Brussels in 2010. But all chairs from that period are slightly damaged, which makes the chair almost unusable—the backrest opens too much when you sit on it. Still, I just can’t bring myself to throw it away, so I keep it.

I recently visited the Toni-Areal archive in Zurich. Seeing all the chairs I know from my books gathered in one place left me speechless. From Alvar Aalto, Max Ernst, Hans Zollinger Söhne, Willy Guhl, to Marcel Breuer… I felt there was still so much to do, and it gave me the urge to draw again.

There is also one piece that I find particularly beautiful and elegant: the Kohn armchair no. 712, known as “Le Corbusier.”

You’ve worked across a wide range of brands and on products ranging from tableware to storage. What draws you to a collaboration, and how do you decide which partners are the right fit?

You have to do many things to be noticed. It takes time, and during that time, you try, you navigate through this world, and you do your best with the people you are working with. You often need a click to move to the next step.

It’s not always easy to find the right partner—the one you truly feel on the same wavelength with. But to recognise that partner, you also need to know yourself. That means experimenting and understanding what you are good at and where you stand.

I think this is exactly what happened with HAY. Suddenly, all the projects became easier and clearer. The resources were there, which made discussions more fluid and productive. Another important thing is that when you propose something, you never really know if it’s what they need. Everything becomes more efficient when you receive a brief or a specific request—then you know exactly what you have to do. For me, that’s the moment when ideas truly start to emerge.

In recent years, you have gained increasing recognition as one of the leading industrial designers at the forefront of a talented new wave of young(er) designers, including John Tree, Hugo Passos and Keiji Takeuchi, to name a few. It just so happens you are friends too; do you naturally influence and inspire each other, and is there ever friendly competition?