Belgian designer Elias Van Orshaegen and interior architect Maarten Van Meerbeeck will present Garçonnière, a site-specific installation in a private residence in Milan during Milan Design Week 2026 (21–26 April). The project will be shown at Via San Maurilio 14, in the historic centre of the city.
The installation draws inspiration from the historic Garçonnière, a secondary apartment traditionally used by members of the bourgeoisie as a private retreat away from their formal homes. These spaces often allowed greater freedom in decoration and atmosphere, resulting in interiors that were more personal, experimental and intimate.
© Maarten Van Meerbeeck
For this project, Van Orshaegen and Van Meerbeeck reinterpret the concept as a contemporary interior staged as a cinematic environment. The installation unfolds as a sequence of spatial scenes, guiding visitors through different stages of the interior's construction and composition.
Visitors first encounter a backstage-like setting where the architectural structure of the installation is deliberately exposed. Raw materials, unfinished walls and visible structural elements reveal the underlying framework of the space. Within this transitional environment, several furniture pieces are displayed as objects positioned between prototype and finished design.
The journey continues into the main installation, where the space transforms into the fully realised garçonnière interior. Soft architectural elements made from stretched fabric alter the geometry of the room, creating an immersive and atmospheric setting. The design references the decorative rhythm of Jean Dunand's historic "Les Palmiers" smoking room, while offering a contemporary reinterpretation rather than a historical reconstruction.
© Elias Van Orshaegen
Within this interior, furniture pieces are arranged as active elements within the architectural composition rather than isolated objects. Desks, lamps, wall pieces, a daybed and a custom rug together form a carefully staged environment where materiality, proportion and placement shape the atmosphere of the room.
The installation introduces several new designs by Van Orshaegen, as well as collaborative works created with Van Meerbeeck. Highlights include the Kura Table/Desk and Kura Console in modified lacquered oak, the Curoso Table Lamp II and Floor Lamp II, made from cast aluminium and rock crystal, and a daybed in Oregon pine and silk. Additional elements include wall compositions in lacquered Oregon pine, a mahogany sculpture by Van Orshaegen and a custom rug by Van Meerbeeck in New Zealand wool.
© Maarten Van Meerbeeck
Garçonnière marks the first large-scale collaboration between the two Belgian designers. The project combines Van Orshaegen's sculptural approach to furniture with Van Meerbeeck's narrative approach to interior architecture.
Through this immersive presentation, the installation invites visitors to experience furniture as part of a larger architectural and atmospheric narrative, highlighting the dialogue between objects, space and storytelling within contemporary design.
More information:
Elias Van Orshaegen
www.eliasvo.com
Maarten Van Meerbeeck
www.maartenvanmeerbeeck.com
