Interview: Owner and CEO of Etnies Pierre-Andre Senizergues

Image via Complex Original

The owner and CEO of Etnies, Pierre-Andre Senizergues just finished celebrating the 25th anniversary of his brand at the museum, La Gaîté Lyrique Public Domaine in Paris, where he unveiled a three part art installation that explores the ideas of living, moving, and thinking in skateboarding. The standout piece is a 70 square-meter architectural case study, called the PAS House, centered around the idea of futuristic living through skateboarding. Every transition within the house can be skated, turning the living space into a skatepark. We caught up with Pierre-Andre Senizergues to talk to us about the PAS House, click on to see images of the structure and to hear about the inspirations behind the project. It will be on display until August 7th.

“The installation at La Gaîté Lyrique Public Domaine is a large exhibition about youth culture, what is happening both now and in the future. Skateboarding is a part of the culture today, and skateboarding is the future. This was perfectly timed for the 25th anniversary of my brand, Etnies. I used this opportunity to see what will happen in the next 25 years—how can we make people think differently, and how can we make skateboarding be a part of that? The PAS house represents the skateboarding lifestyle, imagined in the future.”

“Our skateboard culture, we’ve been making shoes for more than 25 years, we’ve been making music, we’ve been making clothes, movies, all about skateboarding, but there is no physical home, no interior, that represents skateboard culture. It had to be done, and for 10 years, I’ve been trying to figure out a way to interpret architecture in a way that envisions skateboarding first, not an afterthought. It’s not just about slapping plywood on the walls. I wanted to envision a structure that was skateboarding first, and then a house that became part of that environment.”

“The PAS House is literally my dream house, haha. You can live in there, you can invite your friends over to have some nice food or a beer, but they can also skate your house at the same time! You can skate over the couch, over the kitchen…it’s very cool. The house represents our lifestyle and our playground at the same time. It is also made out of recycled and sustainable components in order to draw attention to our need to be conscious of our environment.”

“I designed the PAS House with Gil Le Bon Delapointe, who was the original graphic designer for Etnies. He was sponsored by us back in the ’70s, and he’s always remained in skateboarding. He has evolved from being a skater to a designer, and he is known for creating the Skate Study House furniture, which also appears in the PAS House buildout. Gil helped me to get the ideas on paper, and then we worked with the French architect Francois Perrin on finalizing the structure.”

“Francois Perrin is a very forward thinker in the architectural world. He also lives in California, but is also originally from Paris, like me, so this was a perfect bridge, and a great person for me to collaborate with. It’s very exciting that this house is happening. It’s the architecture of the future, and it’s for the people of the future.”

“I’m so happy to finally see it, but now I have to see what is next, after the exhibition. I met with the director of MOCA, Jeffery, when I visited his current show, Art in the Streets, and he

was very intrigued about this house, so it’s possible that perhaps you will see the house in L.A. at some point.”