Paris
France
EnsadLab—A Pioneer Art & Design Laboratory
Member of Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL) University, EnsadLab is the first French research unit within an art and design school, considering its role and activities at the interface of art, design, experimental sciences, engineering, humanities and social sciences.
Established in 2007, it trains a new generation of artists and designers, develops research projects, and promotes knowledge dissemination and tech transfer in partnership with PSL Innovation & Entrepreneurship Office. Co-directed by Dr Emmanuel Mahé (Director of Research) and Edith Buser (Deputy Director of Research), EnsadLab operates through five thematic research groups and a research platform.
Cooperations
EnsadLab fosters partnerships with companies (EDF, Orange, Hermès, Décathlon, IBM…), public institutions (CNOUS, Seine-St-Denis Departmental Council,…), cultural organizations (Centre Pompidou, Société des arts technologiques…, and global universities. It receives support from the French National Research Agency (ANR) and the European Commission (Horizon Europe).
PSL-SACRe Doctorate
Established in 2012, the PSL-SACRe (Sciences Arts Creation Research) practice based doctoral program, connects seven prestigious Higher National Schools and 122 members, creators and researchers. and 122 members. It focuses on design, cinema, music, theatre and visual arts. 22 PhD students all funded are enrolled this year at EnsadLab.
Research Chair VULCA—(Vulnerabilities and Capabilities—Living with a Genetic Disease).
The Research Direction of the École des Arts Décoratifs—PSL recently launched the VULCA Training and Research Chair, with ENS-PSL and Institut Imagine. The Chair is supported by the Richard Mille Foundation and the Groupama Foundation. The five-year program combines medicine, design, humanities, and social sciences with patients’ lived experiences. Read more here.
Two design PhD projects and one research and innovation project are already funded within this chair:
“Peaux Ethiques concerning skin interfaces and envelopes for a rare pediatric genetic disease,” and “Figuring. Supporting children with anorectal malformation”, led respectively by Audrey Brugnoli and Lea Tricaud.
One R&I project: “Dr Tamed Cloud”,a virtual reality device that allows users to interact in a sensitive and aesthetic way with large sets of digital data presented in the form of a virtual behavioural cloud, led by François Garnier.
Another project strengthens the laboratory‘s health axis, RÉESPIRATION led by Samuel Bianchini will be presented for the first time publicly, at Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière for a few months, from January 27 2025. Commissioned, in the framework of the “New Patrons” program, by the R3S Department (Respiration, Réanimation, Réadaptation respiratoire, Sommeil) of this hospital and supported by the French Ministry of Culture, the Fondation de France and the Fondation du souffle, this project uses a soft robotics artwork to explore respiratory empathy as a pathway to well-being and therapeutic innovation.
Impressio Vivo Project
Aurélie Mosse leads the ANR-funded Impressio Vivo, exploring 3D printing of biomaterials using luminescent and calcifying bacteria. This interdisciplinary project spans architecture, design, and microbiology in collaboration with CITA/Royal Danish Academy and 3d.FAB. Outputs include “All flowers are of paper,” a recycled paper foam exhibited in Material Acts at Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles, until January 5, 2025.
Contribute to .able Magazine
EnsadLab publishes .able, a peer-reviewed journal bridging arts, design, and science. Its 40 partners uses formats like scroll.able, pan.able, and video.able to make interdisciplinary research accessible. Topics range from sustainable fashion to bacterial dynamics. Submit to .able: Explore formats and follow submission steps on our website.
ISEA2023 symposium proceedings: “SYMBIOSIS”
The 28th ISEA symposium (International Symposium on Electronic Art, co-organized by Le Cube Garges and École des Arts Décoratifs—PSL, took place from May 16–21, 2023, at the Forum des Images, with events across 50 venues in France. The proceedings, featuring 99 papers on “Symbiosis” selected from 1,400 submissions and reviewed by 200 experts, are available in PDF and online via the BOOKOLAB platform here.
