Ronald-Cecil Sportes – French architect and designer

Ronald-Cecil Sportes is a French architect and designer. He was born in Orleanville (Algeria) and professionally active in Paris.

Education

He studied at the Ecole des Arts Appliques et des Metiers d’Arts, Paris. 

Biography

He worked with Arne Jacobsen in Copenhagen and then returned to Paris, where he worked with French and foreign architects until 1968.

He studied inflatable structures, including a multi-directional model for the Kleber-Colombes tyre company.

He worked at the architecture firm Elsa and subsequently became creative and research director at Marange.

 In 1975, he set up his practice in Paris.

He designed interiors for Lancome in New York, its Paris headquarters, and the Concorde airline. 

Commissions

His commissions included; Galerie Artcurial, Arletty cinema, Ministry of Justice, the Cosmair office in New York, Volvo’s North African headquarters in Casablanca, the Museum of Science and Technology at Pare de la Villette Park in Paris, cultural centre and museum of French wines in Osaka, Cherfien des Phosphates office in Morocco, and the interior and furniture of the TGV terminal in the Gare Montparnasse in Paris. 

He worked with the Beijing Consulting and Engineering Cooperative for Light Industry to design and produce hardwood furniture. He received a commission from the Chinese Ministry for Industry. 

With design offices in Paris, he designed the interior and furniture for a room in President Mitterrand’s suite in the Elysee Palace in 1982-83. 

Designing interiors, furniture, and lighting, his 22-piece furniture collection was produced by JG Furniture in the USA and designed by Pentalux, Italy, VIA-sponsored furniture projects. 

Recognition

His work was included in the; 

• 1968 international exhibition on inflatable structures in Paris, 1968 (XIY) Triennale di Milano, 
• 1969 travelling exhibition in the USA, and 
• 1988 exhibitions of contemporary French furniture at the Victoria and Albert Museum London. 
• The 1987 retrospective of his work was mounted at the International Design Center of New York, Long Island City. 

Sources

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.

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