The adventures of Métalobil are rooted in a bunker. The Blockhaus DY10 is a relic of World War II, located at the heart of the former Nantes industrial basin. In the mid-1990s, the building was transformed into a space for action and reflection, self-managed by radical architects and visual artists eager to cross-pollinate practices.

It was at that moment that Freddy Bernard and Matthieu Lebot, a fine arts student and an architecture student respectively, met and found freedom through the act of making.

The plant world naturally emerged as an inexhaustible reservoir for form production. A natural factory serving the experimental public design produced by the duo. The integration of unique models within an assimilated perimeter became the signature of these craftsmen of uncharted territories.

Venturing into the unknown is a learning process. It means putting oneself at risk, and above all avoiding boredom. The fabrication of composite works, at the intersection of different materials and techniques, is a rare gesture that enables Métalobil to continually move forward, build a range of expertise and tools, and ultimately gain independence and grow.

Since 2021, Métalobil and its thirty employees have been based in Bouguenais, near Nantes. In the 2,500 m² production workshop and engineering office, carpenters, metalworkers, architects, civil and mechanical engineers, artists, designers intermingle…

Managing Director / Artistic Director
Freddy Bernard

Management / Administration
Valérie Le Toquin, Aurélie Bruneteau

Business Development / Communications
Nancy Roquet

Design Office
Simon Szubarga, Nadège Albrecht, Claire Boussion, Tom Caraly, Chloé Dagan, Nicolas Feraille, Jean-François Godet, François-Xavier Jourdain, Marion Landais, Valentin Maindy, Jeffrey Nivelle, Thibaud Robin, Julie Velilla, Antoine Wanner

Workshop
Laurent Roussel, Pierre-Yves Ayma, Laurent Boisard, Christopher Boucheron, Adrien Branchereau, Teddy Jubineau, Antoine Lebreton, Emmanuel Leduc, Julien Lesergent, Thibault Mercier

We are always moving into uncharted territories. By doing so, we have built up a capital of expertise, experiences, and tools that have made us experts in a rather vague and poorly defined field, that of experimental public design.