Steven Leprizé

Founder, ARCA Cabinetmaking

FOR REIMAGINING WOOD AS AN INTERACTIVE WONDER MATERIAL

STEVEN LE

Sprizé is known in his native France as a master craftsman and inventor who performs mindbending tricks with wood. His breakthrough innovation, Airwood, is an inflatable material. To create it, veneer panels are scored, attached to an elastic rubber membrane, and powered by a pneumatic device that allows them to magically expand and contract. The surrealist result has inspired top designers in hospitality, luxury goods, architecture, and other industries to reimagine the contours—and possibilities—of familiar forms.

Leprizé has also developed a material he calls Bois Larmé, a metal-reinforced wood that allows for customizable patterns. This year, he used Bois Larmé to design VIP tour badges for French rock star Matthieu

Chedid, who wanted to turn a throwaway plastic item into an eco-conscious keepsake. In 2020, he designed 200 limited-edition Bois Larmé and leather Kelly bags for Hermès; a “Kellywood” was recently listed on 1stdibs for $325,000. Leprizé used his Woowood, a supple wood skin attached to a textile base that expands and retracts around objects, to build an Ai-powered keypad for Renault’s Morphoz concept car, along with a showcase for a limited-edition Cartier watch in Geneva in 2022.

Leprizé used Bois Larmé to make aerodynamic paneling (fairings) for

Moto Guzzi’s Griso motorcycle last year. Leprizé’s “Wood Eagle” design uses Woowood for an interactive seat, built without a mold for easy repair, that hugs the rider and illuminates the taillight. “I’m not ashamed to call myself an artist, but it’s not just decorative,” he says. “I like to bring function to things.”