Ronald-Cecil Sportes is a French architect and designer. He was born Orleanville (Algeria) and professionally active in Paris.
Education
He studied at the Ecole des Arts Appliques et des Metiers d’Arts, Paris.
Biography
In Copenhagen, he worked with Arne Jacobsen and 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 tire company.
He worked at the architecture firm Elsa and subsequently became creative and research director at Marange.
In 1975, he set up his own practice in Paris.
He designed interiors for Lancome in New York and its headquarters in Paris, and the airliner Concorde.
Commissions
His commissions included; Galerie Artcurial, Arletty cinema, Minis-try 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 designs 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.
You may also be interested in
The Design Research Unit (DRU) first British Design Consultancy – Encyclopedia of Design
The Design Research Unit (DRU) was one of the first design consultancies to provide various specialist design services to companies and individuals alike. In 1943, Herbert Read was established in Knightsbridge offices, London following negotiations with Marcus Bramwell, managing director of Stuart’s Advertising Agency.
How Paul Rand influenced Steve Jobs to accept the the visual identity for NeXT. – Encyclopedia of Design
During Steve Job’s time at NeXT he commissioned graphic designer Paul Rand to create the visual identity for NeXT. Rand had the reputation for exerting great influence on his clients, he created a 100-page branding book to help Steve Jobs understand the entire design process hidden behind the NeXT identity.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.