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====== Interview — Noémie Vinchon (Full Transcript) ======
{{tag>person:interview:full person:role:designer person:project:inflatable_units person:project:inflatable_cinema person:project:la_bulle}}

**Interviewed by:** Yannick Roels  
**Date:** {{date}}  
**Language:** English (translated/edited from French original)  
**Context:** Documentation of design process for the Mo Bil Wiki

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===== Summary =====

==== Background and Design Philosophy ====
  * Noémie Vinchon studied applied arts in France and eco-social design at the Beaux-Arts de Valenciennes, focusing on using local resources to address territory-specific issues.
  * She became interested in creating inflatable furniture to bring lightness and mobility to public spaces.
  * She learned inflatable techniques through internships at Air Captive Waniku (now part of Michelin), working primarily with industrial fall materials/scraps.
  * She developed “elementary shapes” (circles, donuts, cylinders/“sausages”) to explore different ways people interact in public space.

==== Technical Process and Materials ====
  * Designs in Rhino (3D) before creating flat patterns.
  * Uses polyurethane (PU) for membranes and Dacron (nautical fabric) for external covers.
  * Core equipment: industrial fall materials, welding machines, sewing machines; adhesive valve patches where HF welding isn’t available.
  * Valves are a technical challenge (HF welding or adhesive methods).
  * Applies structured industrial protocols (cutting → folding → welding in a specific order).
  * Tests empirically in real-world conditions (festivals, public spaces).

==== Types of Inflatable Structures ====
  * **Air-captured (air capté):** more structural/rigid; gives direction; functions like a **tool** for moving/positioning oneself; helps people “find their place”.
  * **Air-blown (air soufflé):** less structural; shaped by sewing lines and patterning; functions like a **scene/space** for events; creates immersive environments connected to the exterior (shadows, sun, wind).

==== Key Projects with Mo Bil ====
  * **Inflatable Units:** modular pieces that can be moved and sat on in varied configurations.
  * **Inflatable Cinema / Screen:** hybrid air-captured + air-blown to stabilize the projection surface.
  * **La Bulle:** large air-blown structure (~14 m × 6 m) forming an immersive interior space.
  * **Textile Units:** covers and hammocks using fall materials for shade and a “house-like” feel.

==== Public Interaction and Impact ====
  * People approach with curiosity or hesitation; once inside, excitement and immersion.
  * Children engage immediately; adults sometimes hesitate (associating inflatables with children’s play).
  * The “magic” from flat fabric to volume impresses; deployments temporarily transform spaces and invite people to re-imagine their environment.
  * Installations create dynamic, playful atmospheres in otherwise static public spaces.

==== Challenges and Future Improvements ====
  * Maintenance every ~6 months is crucial for longevity.
  * White Dacron shows dirt easily despite being washable.
  * Valves are a recurring weak point, especially around curious children.
  * Need reliable sourcing channels within the industrial-falls ecosystem.
  * Design challenge: inflatables that also appeal to adults.

==== Collaborative Experience ====
  * Found unexpected support at the “Abattoirs” workshop (Cultureghem).
  * Appreciated trust and conviviality from the Mo Bil team.
  * Values knowledge transmission (maintenance/repair).
  * Feels her contribution opened new possibilities for the team and users.

==== Action Items ====
  - [ ] Improve straps, fabric choices, and assembly techniques for the next iteration of Inflatable Units.  
  - [ ] Develop better valve solutions (child-proof, robust).  
  - [ ] Identify material-sourcing collaborators (falls, dormant stock).  
  - [ ] Establish a maintenance protocol/check every 6 months.  
  - [ ] Consider visible but less dirt-prone colors than white Dacron.

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===== Transcript =====

**Yannick:** Let’s go! Hello Noémie! Welcome to the first test interview for the wonderful world of Mo Bil. To begin, can you introduce yourself? Where do you come from, what did you do, and how did you arrive here?

**Noémie:** My name is Noémie Vinchon. I was born in Loiret, France, where I started studying applied arts. Then I continued at the Beaux-Arts de Valenciennes. My specialization is eco-social design: working with the human and material resources of a territory, on issues specific to that territory. I was interested in how to appropriate the city and find one’s place as a citizen during events. Little by little, I started making inflatable furniture to bring lightness and mobility.

**Yannick:** We met when you presented your inflatable units during your research. Can you explain the path—how you developed these inflatable units?

**Noémie:** At the beginning, before making inflatable furniture, I knew I wanted to work with inflatables, but I didn’t know how. I contacted a company that now belongs to Michelin, Air Captive Waniku, and learned a lot of air-captive techniques during internships there, using their industrial falls. My practice is built around those falls—adapting my needs to their standards and assembling everything. It was like commissioning myself. That allowed me to test what I call elementary shapes—circles, donuts, cylinders (the “sausage”)—to question how we sit and relate: on a circle it’s more intimate; face-to-face on a cylinder it’s a paired discussion; back-to-back… It’s about how we position ourselves in public, with playful forms that fuel imagination.

**Yannick:** I love the idea of building on other people’s falls. Beyond material pragmatics, what drew you to air?

**Noémie:** Air responds immediately. With air we work with a **membrane**. You give shape through the fabric—within the limits of what the fabric allows. It’s quite magical. I wanted to work with that standard and transform it.

**Yannick:** Do you remember the first prototype?

**Noémie:** Yes. Before visiting Air Captive, I went to a DIY store and bought construction tarps. I couldn’t weld; I tried double-sided tape. I wanted body-scale objects, not huge devices. Early prototypes weren’t ready to host bodies—that pushed me to learn stitching and welding. How do you bring air into an object? That question drove me.

**Yannick:** We integrated your inflatable units into Mo Bil. They didn’t fundamentally change; they simply found their place in a larger family. How do you see the relationship between the inflatables and the rest of the system?

**Noémie:** It was wonderful. I wanted them to be part of a mobile device; it didn’t feel relevant they existed alone. Being included in Mo Bil—Broedplek—means they are part of a set. I love that Mo Bil is both a space for **meeting** and **making**: designers like you, ideas on materials, products, shapes. And it solves logistics too: pumps, blowers, transport—integrating technical needs that are harder when working solo.

**Yannick:** Can you walk us through your creative process—from idea to inflated prototype?

**Noémie:** Once I understood the principles, I drew very simple shapes—time was short (diploma + company access). I spoke with welders and seamstresses and adapted my desires to what was achievable and coherent with my message. I focused on interlocking donuts and sausages. I model in Rhino to flatten patterns: I work in volume first, then flatten. I add seam/weld allowances. Generally I create **covers first** (to check dimensions) and then the **membranes**, because the membrane ultimately gives the form.

**Yannick:** Materials and tools?

**Noémie:** Early on I tried an iron and a basic soldering iron—didn’t work because materials are thick. Polyurethane membranes need powerful welding machines. I first used the company’s machines, then looked for second-hand equipment. My base kit is: recovered falls, a welding machine, and a sewing machine. Valves are trickier: HF (high-frequency) welding is ideal but I don’t have that machine; either a company welds them for me or I use adhesive patches (originally repair patches, but they work well). Sometimes I pre-weld valve areas with hot-air tools at home before assembling PU.

**Yannick:** The Dacron covers?

**Noémie:** I discovered Dacron with you. It’s a (brand-associated) fabric from the nautical world—used for sails, kitesurfing. It’s not “inflatable” fabric per se, but it’s **very resistant** and **washable** and protects membranes well. It can be a bit rigid, which pushes toward elementary shapes rather than very complex ones.

**Yannick:** How do you test resistance?

**Noémie:** For my diploma, I tested **in the field**—a festival in Roubaix—kids used them for a week. In industry you’d do tensile tests on textiles; I learned a lot empirically. Industry also taught me **protocols**: there’s always an order—cutting, folding, welding. That rigor is necessary.

**Yannick:** A failure that taught you something?

**Noémie:** Over-inflation. I inflated a very strong balloon; I felt pressure was too high and kept going—it exploded. It taught me to know my pressure limits.

**Yannick:** An atelier trick?

**Noémie:** **Mark before cutting.** Check at each stage. It saves you.

**Yannick:** We started together with the Inflatable Units (air-captured). This year we built the **Inflatable Cinema**, which sits in-between, and now we’re working on **La Bulle** (air-blown). How do you define the difference between the two families—air-captured vs air-blown?

**Noémie:** *Air-captured* is structural and resistant; it lets you give **direction**. *Air-blown* is guided by **seams, patronage, force lines**. Air-blown is less worrying in terms of catastrophic failure—if airflow is managed, a puncture isn’t fatal like in a sealed membrane (which becomes leaky and fragile). Air-blown also tends to be **less expensive**: with air-captured you often build both textile cover and PU membrane (double material cost). For huge volumes, I avoid air-captured—too much material for the benefit.

**Yannick:** And in public space?

**Noémie:** Air-captured is a **tool** to settle in public space and move within it—finding your place. Air-blown is more like a **scene**—like installing a big tent (barnum): you define a place where something happens.

**Yannick:** The Inflatable Cinema—what’s the idea?

**Noémie:** We wanted a device that fits in a box, including projector and LEDs, with its own projection surface. We aimed for the **widest screen** possible to avoid visible seams. The first prototype was only air-blown and produced a “bombed” surface; air wants to escape everywhere so geometry isn’t perfectly flat. We added **air-captured** structure around the screen for rigidity. Projection distances and screen dimensions are calculated as a whole—so the setup is a **recipe** others can adapt to their projector.

**Yannick:** And **La Bulle**—main challenges?

**Noémie:** It’s a large air-blown device, ~14 m long by ~6 m high at the apex. We wanted a space where many things could happen inside. We learned from last year’s air-blown sound structure: cable routing for sound inside must be safe; weights should be **outside** for a structure this large; plan anchor points even if not always used. We first over-formalized it like a building (exits, etc.), but that was too complex for an inflatable—so we adapted. The form is like a sarcophagus tent, **open**, to welcome many people. Inside, sound behaves differently; light passes differently. It’s an interior but **connected** to the exterior—shadows, sun, wind—very immersive. It can’t be a fully closed, weather-proof architecture, but it offers a powerful **experience** and reframing of the environment. Because it’s mobile, it reaches varied audiences and contexts.

**Yannick:** Public reactions?

**Noémie:** People first ask “what is this bazaar?” Before appreciating the object, they need to **go inside**. Then they feel the immersion. There’s excitement, sometimes a little fear—air constantly blowing, doors closing, fabric enclosing you. Kids touch the walls, test bounce—many associate inflatables with bouncy castles. The magic is **fabric → volume**—that transformation impresses. Kids enter first; adults follow later. I’m still researching **how to design inflatables for adults**—maybe larger, less obviously playful forms.

**Yannick:** A memorable moment?

**Noémie:** The first festival deployment: a whole group of kids ran and jumped on them. I had just learned to sew and weld; I saw them as fragile. I was stressed, but I let go. After a week of intense use, they held up. It proved the object could **live without the creator**—essential if you want collective use.

**Yannick:** This summer at Plaza, the big Meccano structure with hammocks and fabrics—then we inflated the units and the place became a **mega playground**. The fact that units can roam through the park adds life—dynamic, beautiful.

**Noémie:** Yes—and long-term, I agree: these pieces hold up well, with **regular care**. If we check every six months—count, repair, give love—they last. Like a house roof every 15 years—but here it’s a lightweight maintenance rhythm. We can note recurrent weaknesses and improve next versions.

**Yannick:** About textiles and hammocks—the “textile units” family?

**Noémie:** Your need was shade and a house-like feeling in public. We used **dormant stock** (blue) and **tent-maker falls** (beige). Blue is abundant; beige ran out, so we’ll switch (it actually worked best—good fabric). Hammocks were simpler (two sizes). What failed: **cabins**. Our rope-and-tension system works for covers (horizontal traction), but vertical cabin panels were unsafe and hard to tension for non-experts. We tried to solve it “inside Meccano rules,” but sometimes you have to step outside the system. Often a **rope + piece of fabric** is enough shelter—the simplest solution wins.

**Yannick:** How did you experience collective work at Cultureghem?

**Noémie:** I’m used to working alone, but at the Abattoirs I felt at home—people came to help without being asked. That trust and conviviality matter. The Mo Bil team gave me **freedom and confidence**, no micro-management.

**Yannick:** And what do you think you brought?

**Noémie:** I hope a **new world of possibilities**—techniques, prototypes, experiences that open imagination for others.

**Yannick:** Hopes for future collaboration?

**Noémie:** **Transmission**: how to check functionality, repair without me, and keep producing new projects occasionally.

**Yannick:** What are you most proud of?

**Noémie:** Tackling **air-blown**—I didn’t want to touch it before. Working with you and Cultureghem opened that world.

**Yannick:** What would you change or improve?

**Noémie:** **Color**: white Dacron has great light qualities and visibility, but it’s high-maintenance; I’d pick a visible color that hides dirt better. The Inflatable Units—now a 3rd edition—still need improved **straps, fabric choices, assembly techniques**. And **valves**—they’re a weakness; kids are curious. I also want to identify partners for **material recovery/purchase** and build a local ecosystem—every fall stream is specific, so we create “on-site” protocols that can be adapted and replicated.

**Yannick:** Advice for working in public space?

**Noémie:** Choose **resistant materials** and strong thread; don’t underestimate **wind, rain, or the unpredictability of the public**.

**Yannick:** Final question: what do these structures say about how we occupy public space together?

**Noémie:** Personally, I didn’t expect to meet someone who believes so much in occupying public space and **bringing magic**. Things appear and disappear. It proves it’s possible to identify a place in the city and **appropriate it**. We talk endlessly about the city—researchers, architects, ministers—but changing it is hard. Mobile devices **change things quickly**. Every time we deploy something—a kitchen, a structure, an inflatable—we transform a space by adding function and imagination. You bring a **small bag**, a **pump**, and suddenly there’s **magic**.

**Yannick:** Thank you.

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**Transcribed by:** Yannick Roels • **Last updated:** {{date}}  
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