The Traboule cabinet is a statement piece, but it’s a functional storage solution too.  It can take pride of place in a special corner of your home, but it can actually house things also – clothes, linen, scarves…..  Initially designed for a client in England who had a significant collection of silk scarves, we applied our creative skills and developed this unique concept.

Our research took us to the famous silk weaving town of Lyon, France.  In Vieux (old) Lyon, the Croix-Rousse hillside area and the Presqu’île neighborhoods, traboules are very special examples of urban architecture that are both functional and highly symbolic. The official number of traboules in Lyon rests somewhere between 250-500.

The origin of the traboules is functional. Like many medieval cities, the street plan evolved organically, resulting in a lack of connecting streets perpendicular to the river. Possibly as early as the 4th century, passageways were built to connect residents to the river, which was their main water supply. During the Renaissance, silk workers used traboules in the Croix-Rousse to transit quickly between their workshops and the merchants along the river. The traboules were also used by the Resistance during World War II, providing a strategic advantage in preventing complete German takeover in this area.

Traboules are thus very tall structures which were required to allow the silk workers to transport their very long silk looms between workshops and merchants.  We took this concept and tailored it to meet our current day aesthetics. Utilising an aluminium framework, our traboule cabinet is cladded in a stunning swiss pear set of asymmetric panels – one of which acts as a pivoting opening.  Secretive, unusual yet purposefully built – just like the original Lyonaise towers of centuries ago.