Belgo founder starts design consultancy

Denis Blais, one of the partners behind the Belgo and Bierodrome chains and the designer of the Schnecke restaurant, is launching a design company, Vingt-Douze.

The new consultancy will aim to provide “non-formulaic, contemporary design”. It will provide a range of services including interior, graphic and website design for both commercial and residential projects.

Vingt-Douze has already won a number of projects. It is currently working on the interior and graphic design for a new restaurant in Cape Town, South Africa, and a six-storey, listed town house in Montreal, Canada. The group also has plans to market a designer wallpaper range in conjunction with paint specialist Quentin Reynolds.

“People are fed up with safe, ‘retro’ solutions and obvious design signatures. Our approach is not to spoon-feed the client, but excite them into finding a vision that is right for them,” says Blais.

Before leaving the Belgo chain, Blais had worked with Foreign Office Architects on the design of several branches.