French design studio Uchronia drew inspiration from the historic architecture of the Grand Palais museum when creating this monumental floral installation that will be on display throughout Paris Design Week.
Le Grand Bouquet is located at the heart of the Antin Rotunda and was designed by Uchronia to reference the space's mosaic floor, as well as the decorative mouldings that adorn the arcades.
Uchronia founder Julien Sebban was asked by the Grand Palais and Paris Design Week to create a sculptural intervention that would complement the architecture of the recently restored building, rather than simply occupying it.
"We wanted the installation to feel as though it had grown from the Grand Palais itself, while bringing the joyful, colourful and slightly surreal language of Uchronia into this very historic setting," Sebban told Dezeen.
The large-scale metal sculpture draws inspiration from the rotunda's floral decorations and exaggerates them to create a new architectural expression that is in dialogue with its surroundings.
The stylised petals seem to emerge from the floor, while the circular composition echoes the geometry of the rotunda, guiding the eye upwards to the ornate ceiling.
"We imagined it almost as an extension of the building, as though the ornamentation had suddenly started growing and taken over the room," Sebban said.
The designer claimed that, despite its monumental scale, the piece was designed to feel "generous, playful and accessible", which is achieved in part by the visual lightness and fragility of the flowers.
Uchronia collaborated closely with a range of French artisans to create the installation, including metalworkers at metal workshop Atelier François Pouenat, who developed the internal metal structure.
Paint and coatings specialists Seigneurie helped bring colour to the sculpture, using the PPG Group's Chromatic paint to achieve a luminous glossy finish.
The base of the sculpture is surrounded by circular beds, made by bed brand Tréca Paris and upholstered by silk weaver Manufacture Prelle, which encourage visitors to pause and contemplate the rotunda's architecture.
"We didn't want Le Grand Bouquet to be something that visitors only looked at from a distance – we wanted people to inhabit it," said Sebban.
"The beds introduce an unexpected domestic gesture into the monumental scale of the Grand Palais, while the silk upholstery brings another layer of softness, tactility and French craftsmanship to the experience."
Dotted around the space is furniture created by Uchronia for French design brand Tiptoe, including tables featuring FENIX surfaces produced by materials brand Arpa Industriale.
The installation is accompanied by a colourful inflatable structure outside the building, which welcomes visitors and creates a threshold between the city and the playful interior space.
Le Grand Bouquet is free to visit throughout Paris Design Week, and Sebban said he hopes visitors will leave "feeling a bit lighter than when they arrived."
"The project is about joy as a form of resistance and as something capable of bringing people together," he added.
"In a period often defined by uncertainty, we wanted to make something unapologetically optimistic – an installation that celebrates beauty, imagination and the pleasure of sharing an experience with other people."
Le Grand Bouquet is on show as part of the Grand Palais Design and Arts and Crafts Boutique, which offers a curated selection of exclusive design objects celebrating craftsmanship and innovation.
The Grand Palais underwent a comprehensive renovation led by French studio Chatillon Architectes that modernised its galleries, some of which are being temporarily occupied by the Centre Pompidou as it undergoes its own restoration.
Le Grand Bouquet is typical of Uchronia's playful signature style, which combines colour, vegetal forms, craftsmanship and storytelling to create designs for objects and spaces that incite emotion in their users.
The studio, which Sebban founded in 2019, previously created another Paris Design Week installation comprising a monumental bed informed by the interiors of the 18th-century Hôtel de la Marine.
Other projects include a cafe interior in Paris designed to evoke a traditional Korean house and a psychedelic boutique in London featuring a floor made from painted lava stone.
The photography is by Romain Moriceau.
Le Grand Bouquet is on show from 11 to 20 September at Grand Palais, Paris. See our London Design Festival 2026 guide on Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks that take place during the week.