behaghelfoiny: a print that follows the fold

a sheet of aluminium lies flat on the bed of a digital printer. the ink goes on as it would on any flat surface. only afterwards is the sheet folded into a chair, and the printed texture, laid down in two dimensions, now runs over every edge of a volume. this is 'aluplié', the series antoine behaghel and alexis foiny began in april 2025, and it is a fair summary of how their paris studio works.

two designers, one method

behaghelfoiny is a design studio in paris, founded in 2019 by antoine behaghel and alexis foiny. both studied object design at the école nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs (ensad) in paris: alexis foiny graduated in 2021, antoine behaghel in 2024. their practice moves between objects, scenography and image. in the studio's own words, each project is a chance to bring together unconventional materials, techniques and know-how, and to find a new method in them.

the studio came out of collectible design. it has since turned to a research-based approach, taking on questions of standardisation, resources and the environmental crisis, with what it calls a festive and transgressive point of view. from 2024 to 2026 it is in residence at the ateliers de paris, within the bdmma, the bureaux du design, de la mode et des métiers d'art.

industrial processes, turned

the thread through their work is a process taken from industry and used for something it was not made for. for 'aluplié', the studio is its own editor and producer, working with the digital printing laboratory traphot. the inkjet print is made flat; folding then gives it a third dimension, and the texture meets the edges of the furniture. in the studio's english text the series includes a bookcase and a chair, with a table lamp and a vase made by 3d printing.

the same approach runs back to 'tubulure', a collection from november 2019. semi-industrial tubes are bent, then covered in coloured plaster by hand, and the tubular shape is carried into lamps, candleholders and seats. 'tubulure' won the pli public workshop at the pavillon de l'arsenal in 2019 and was shown at galerie archik in marseille. the tube came back in later projects: 'tube story' at chapelle xiv in paris, and 'tubabulures', a sensory landscape for young children at the centre pompidou.

newer projects take the digital route further. 'lampamodelé', from december 2025, is a table lamp sculpted in software and 3d-printed. two collaborations from january 2026 link paris and tokyo: 'fuwa fuwa flora', a throw and a pouf made with the futon workshop mori seimenjo, and 'hopla loop', a series of coloured glasses faceted by hand with the tokyo atelier glass lab.

recognition in 2026

in 2026 the 'aluplié' bookcase entered the collections of the mobilier national through its acquisition campaign. the same year the studio received the grand prix de la création de la ville de paris in the révélation design category. at paris design week 2025 the duo curated 'néopaléo' at the galerie des ateliers de paris, a show of some fifteen contemporary design practices.

the pieces at spazio

spazio shows the 'aluplié chair' in two colourways, each in an edition of 8. the material is printed aluminium composite, folded; the chair measures 42 by 43 cm and stands 66 cm high, dated 2026. one runs in a gradient from green to yellow, the other from green to blue. each chair is folded by hand in paris and made to order: it leaves the studio within four weeks, in a wooden crate. care is simple: a soft, damp cloth, no abrasive cleaners.

the print is not a coating on a finished object. it is put down while the chair is still a flat sheet, and the fold decides where it ends up. that is the method the studio describes, carried all the way into a piece you can sit on.

the two chairs on spazio: 'aluplié chair', green to yellow and 'aluplié chair', green to blue. all their pieces: behaghelfoiny.