What the workshop does
UOTNI is a design office and fabrication workshop for one-off, multi-material and planted works. We turn the design of an artist, landscape architect or architect into a built work: technical studies, prototypes, fabrication in our Pantin workshop and installation on site.
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What does UOTNI actually do?
We take care of everything between an idea and the installed work: choice of materials and connections, calculations and shop drawings, prototypes and tests, fabrication, transport and installation. Depending on the project, we provide the technical design and fabrication of a designer’s work, or we also take part in its design, as co-designers.
Who do you work for?
For artists, landscape architects and architects, and through them for public and private clients: City of Paris, City of Rennes, Plaine Commune, LUGA in Luxembourg, Art & Jardins Hauts-de-France, associations, developers and owners of private gardens. In particular, we have worked for many years with the artist Gilles Brusset.
Which materials do you work with?
Every material a work needs: steel, mirror-polished stainless steel, Corten steel, brass, timber, wicker, millstone, rammed concrete, earth, lime, glass and mirror, plants. We favour reuse and bio-based materials: the Shoah Memorial in Lyon, for example, is built from reclaimed SNCF rails.
How large a work can you build?
From the reception furniture of a medical practice to structures weighing several tens of tonnes. The Shoah Memorial in Lyon contains 90 tonnes of steel; Le Pittoresque in Amiens brings together 8 tonnes of steel and 2,200 linear metres of mirror; Les racines du futur in Luxembourg covers 40 × 15 m.
Do you make models and prototypes?
Yes. For each work we look for the best way to build it, with models and prototypes approved by the designer before fabrication.
What are the lead times?
They depend on each work. We plan for them from the start: from the first sketches, we estimate the time needed for studies, fabrication and installation, and build the schedule with the designer.
Are you insured?
Yes. UOTNI holds professional liability insurance and French ten-year building insurance (garantie décennale); certificates are available on request.
Where do you work?
Our design office is in Paris Belleville and our fabrication workshop in Pantin. We install our works throughout France and abroad: in the Paris region, Lyon, Rennes, Amiens and Ajaccio, as well as in Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Quebec.
Can you help us respond to a call for projects?
Yes. UOTNI supports artists from the application stage. We analyse the call, put together the administrative and technical file, check the feasibility of the work and estimate its fabrication. If selected, the artist works with the same team for technical design, fabrication and installation: what we promise in the application, we know how to build.
I am a public or private client looking for an artist who both designs and makes the artwork. Is that possible?
Yes. Marc Blume, a sculptor, landscape architect and engineer, designs the artwork, and UOTNI develops, manufactures and installs it. You have a single point of contact, from the first sketch to handover.
Do you support artists applying for a French ‘1 % artistique’ (percent-for-art) commission?
Yes. We help the artist prepare their application (feasibility, cost estimate, technical dossier) and, if they are selected, we handle the technical design, fabrication and installation of the artwork.
Do you make bespoke furniture?
Yes: interior furniture (reception areas, storage, joinery), street furniture and garden furniture, as one-off pieces or in small batches.
Do you work for landscape architecture and architecture firms?
Yes. We build the singular elements of their projects: sculptures, benches, railings, planted structures, installations. We get involved from the design stage to check feasibility and budget.
How do you choose the materials and the technique?
Through research. For each work, we study several solutions, compare materials (durability, maintenance, reuse, cost) and carry out trials and prototypes before fabrication. This is what allows us to build the work exactly as it was imagined.
Who makes the works?
Our teams: carpenters, joiners, welders, architects, landscape architects and engineers, brought together according to the skills each project requires, at our Paris design studio, our Pantin workshop and on site.
How is the budget set?
From the first sketches, we draw up an estimate for design, fabrication and installation. The project is then adjusted with you to stay within budget, without losing the intention of the work.
How can we contact you?
By e-mail at contact@uotni.org or by phone on +33 (0)1 88 61 39 36. Send us the first images of the project, the site and the intended schedule: we will come back to you with an initial technical approach.