Atelier Phytolab

Atelier Phytolab
Name	Atelier Phytolab
Industry	Botanical design
Founded	2008
Founder	Marie Duval
Headquarters	Paris, France
Key people	Marie Duval; Antoine Lefèvre; Dr. Sofia Romano
Products	Phytocosmetics; green installations; botanical collections

Atelier Phytolab is a Paris-based botanical design atelier and research studio that integrates plant science, landscape architecture, and contemporary art. The studio operates at the intersection of horticulture, conservation, and design, collaborating with museums, universities, and cultural institutions across Europe and beyond. Its work draws on cross-disciplinary exchanges with botanists, curators, and urbanists to produce living installations, publications, and conservation programs.

History

Founded in 2008 by Marie Duval after training at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, the studio emerged during a period of renewed interest in urban biodiversity and ecological design. Early collaborators included Antoine Lefèvre and Dr. Sofia Romano, who brought expertise from institutions such as the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the Natural History Museum, London. Over time the atelier developed ties to the Centre Pompidou, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, and the Serpentine Galleries, expanding its practice through exhibitions at the Tate Modern, the Louvre, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Barbican Centre. The studio’s trajectory intersected with academic programs at Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, Wageningen University, and Columbia University, and with policy dialogues at the European Commission and UNESCO.

Philosophy and Approach

The atelier’s philosophy synthesizes principles from landscape architecture, conservation biology, and contemporary curation. Influences span theorists and practitioners associated with the Bauhaus, Le Corbusier, Piet Oudolf, and Gilles Clément, while engaging with methodologies from the Royal Horticultural Society and the Society for Ecological Restoration. Atelier practitioners often reference case studies from the High Line, the Berlin Botanical Garden, the Eden Project, and the Singapore Botanic Gardens to inform adaptive strategies. The approach emphasizes multisensory design, participatory programming with municipal partners like the City of Paris and the Greater London Authority, and ethical sourcing aligned with CITES, IUCN, and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Products and Services

Atelier offerings include bespoke green installations for institutions such as the Centre Pompidou-Metz, curated greenhouse designs for collectors and foundations like the Getty Foundation, and limited-run phytocosmetic lines developed in collaboration with laboratories at the Institut Pasteur and CNRS. Services encompass living exhibitions for the Royal Academy of Arts and the Victoria and Albert Museum, conservation plans for historic gardens such as those at Versailles and Kew Gardens, and site-specific commissions for nonprofit partners including the Wellcome Trust, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. The atelier also produces educational programs with the Smithsonian Institution, the Natural History Museum, and the Musée d'Orsay.

Notable Projects and Collaborations

Key projects include a living archive commission for the Musée du Quai Branly, a climate-adaptive rooftop garden for the Palais de Tokyo, and an urban biodiversity corridor developed with the City of Paris and the Greater London Authority. Collaborations with artists and institutions have involved Olafur Eliasson at the Tate Modern, Ai Weiwei at the Serpentine Galleries, and team-based research with Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, ETH Zurich’s Institute of Landscape Architecture, and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Other partners include the Fondation Cartier, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, and the Musée Picasso.

Research and Development

Research initiatives bridge botanical science and design innovation, partnering with the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Imperial College London, Wageningen University, and the Salk Institute. Studies address plant resilience under climate scenarios modelled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, propagation techniques shared with Kew, and soil microbiome research informed by collaborations with Institut Pasteur and CNRS teams. Projects have been presented at conferences hosted by the Royal Society, the European Geosciences Union, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and published in outlets connected to the Journal of Ecology, Nature Plants, and Landscape Research.

Awards and Recognition

The atelier’s work has been recognized by honors and awards from institutions including the Royal Horticultural Society, the European Prize for Urban Public Space, and municipal design awards from the City of Paris. Exhibitions and commissions have been shortlisted for the Turner Prize-affiliated commissions, the Praemium Imperiale, and the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The atelier has received grants from the Getty Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, the European Research Council, and national arts councils such as Arts Council England and the Centre National des Arts Plastiques.

Gallery and Exhibitions

Exhibitions featuring the studio’s installations have been mounted at the Centre Pompidou, Tate Modern, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Serpentine Galleries, and the Barbican Centre. Touring displays have appeared at the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the Musée du Quai Branly, the Louvre, and the Royal Academy of Arts. The atelier’s work has also been included in festivals and biennials such as the Venice Biennale, the Milan Triennale, the São Paulo Biennial, the Taipei Biennial, and the Bergen Assembly.

Category:Design studios Category:Botanical gardens Category:Landscape architecture