Zbeul Studio

Zbeul Studio is a multidisciplinary creative workshop founded by Thomas Nouiand Victor Robin. Based in Paris, they develop a body of work where design, history, and experimentation intertwine to give rise to unprecedented forms. Their practice is defined by a conceptual approach that places material and its transformations at the core of the creative process.

Noui and Robin favor fabrication processes that reveal the energy of the gesture. Their creations are nourished by cultural, historical, and technical research into domestic space, the role of everyday objects, and the experimental potential of materials. In 2023, they were finalists of the  ‘Reenchanting the Villa Medici’ call for projects with a proposal focused on woodcraft. In 2025, they will take part in the exhibition ‘ Les Nouveaux Ensembliers ’ at the Mobilier National in Paris.

‘Chimera’ is a hybrid sculpture born from shards unearthed during archaeological excavations in the South of France. The fragments of terracotta, some dating back to the late 17th century, were assembled in line with scientific restoration protocols before being partially silver-leafed in the spirit of Kintsugi. From the tension between the fragments emerges the overall form of this chimera-like vessel, a singular object born from the diversion of archaeological restoration techniques, revisited through the lens of contemporary creation.

The ‘Cordes’ collection explores the sculptural and symbolic potential of a technique imagined at the crossroads of cultures. Inspired by a Japanese vernacular craft—applying urushi lacquer to rice ropes—Noui and Robin reinterpret this gesture in a European context, bringing back forgotten Western materials such as Martin varnish and pine tar. Made of hemp rope, pine resin, and lacquer, the five pieces in the collection take the form of antique archetypes—jar, vase, amphora, bowl—each transformed into a sculptural object. These reinvented containers summon the memory of domestic and ritual uses while asserting the raw materiality and contemporary force of the duo’s experiments. With ‘Cordes’, Zbeul Studio probes the possible filiations between craft, design, and archaeology, opening up a space of dialogue between history and uchronia.

Designer, interior architect, and visual artist, Thomas Noui was born in 1996. After studying within the selective  ‘Frontiers of Life’ program, in partnership with the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation and Université Paris-Descartes, he entered École Camondo, from which he graduated with honors in 2021. Passionate about archaeology, he develops hybrid concepts that interrogate temporality, memory, and societal issues. He was awarded the Monnaie de Paris Prize in 2023 and the Maisons Pariente Prize in 2025.

Art cabinetmaker Victor Robin was born in 1996. He graduated from the renowned École de la Bonne Graine in Paris. Within Zbeul Studio, he conducts technical and experimental research on materials and their transformations. He is committed to exploring their structural and aesthetic potential, combining traditional know-how with contemporary processes. His projects range from the scale of the object to that of architecture.