Feu Pierre Keller

Shortly after the passing of Pierre Keller in 2019, director of the Lausanne University of Art and Design (ECAL) from 1995 to 2011, the Keller family invited his friend Ronan Bouroullec to design his gravesite in the Swiss village of Saint-Saphorin, on the shores of Lake Geneva.

‍

An artist, graphic designer, and photographer, Pierre Keller first gained recognition in the 1970s with provocative works like Kilo-Art, a standard for measuring the market value of creative work. As the iconic director of ECAL from 1995 to 2011, he completely reinvented the school, transforming it into a global design benchmark by opening it up to international networks, bringing in contemporary practitioners, and forging new industrial partnerships. It was Pierre Keller who originally invited Ronan Bouroullec to teach at ECAL in the 90s, a significant appointment among the many initiatives Keller launched to reform the institution. 

‍

To pay tribute to him, Ronan Bouroullec envisioned a tomb resting on a bed of white stones meant to be walked upon. It includes a marble stele and a tubular cupro-aluminum bench facing the lake, allowing Pierre Keller’s friends to sit, reflect, and share a drink together. The design is completed by a lantern-style lamppost featuring a glass cylinder that lights up at night, a nod to Pierre’s nocturnal and insomniac nature. This cylinder houses various objects or artworks that are changed from time to time, like an exhibition, to watch over him while perpetuating the sense of movement that defined his life. 

‍

Blam designed and produced the cupro-aluminum seat, a tube 20 cm in diameter, 50 cm high, and 2 m long, inspired by the outdoor furnishings of the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection in Paris.

‍