Archaeology of the Future

Archaeology of the Future (AOF) is an anticipation project where a series of metallic forms appears like artefacts from a time ahead of us. The project introduces a new tool in design—scanning existing items to create, recompose, and imagine from them a speculative scenario. From this process, objects emerge, evoking a world where industrial forms are eventually reclaimed by nature. A plant wraps around a container eroded by time. A shell fossilises around a metallic rod. This work looks at a buried reality to reveal, through design, current and future concerns. Born from research on ornament, AOF introduces a radical process in silverware and jewellery — merging technology and crafts. With each piece combining advanced scanning and handcrafted techniques, the project seeks to redefine ornamentation: neither purely digital nor purely handmade. Presented at DESIGNTIDE TOKYO 2025, AOF unveils its latest piece, shortlisted for the Bettencourt Prize for Craft.

Gala Espel

Gala Espel

French architect and designer based in Paris and Tokyo. Her work is rooted in research and artisanal techniques, investigating design through universal emotions.

A graduate of ECAL, her practice is shaped by contextual analysis and an effort to make industry and craft coexist.

Recognised by institutions such as the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, the French Ministry of Culture, Villa Albertine in New York, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and Villa Noailles in France, her objects map the tensions of material culture — from the perishable to the permanent — and its relationship to life.

She now works closely with Japanese craftsmen, experimenting with contemporary tools to develop new cultural narratives.

EXHIBITION / AWARD
  • Craft Prize finalist, “Dialogues” — Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation.
  • Best Special Project — Design Miami.
  • Finalist Design Parade Hyères — Villa Noailles.
  • Winner — Le Bon Marché × nendo, national competition.
  • Winner — le19M, CHANEL.
  • Laureate — Villa Albertine.
  • Laureate “Mondes Nouveaux” — French Ministry of Culture competition.
TICKETS