Roger Fatus (1926 - 2025)
Roger Fatus studied law at the University of Lille and attended the École des Beaux-Arts of Tourcoing before graduating from École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ENSAD) in Paris in 1953. He interned with several architects, then joined Jacques Dumond’s studio in 1955, working alongside Janine Abraham and Dirk Jan Rol.
Dumond, his mentor, encouraged him to exhibit at the Salon des artistes décorateurs (SAD) as early as 1956 and involved him in desi- gning the Paris Pavilion for the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. He also contributed to the layout of an apartment presented in the France Pavilion.
That same year, he founded his own studio at 28 rue Madame in Paris. His first works consisted of children’s furniture in solid ash and Formica, as well as institutional furniture for schools and hospitals, produced by Lecel, a small company in northern France with which he collaborated for around ten years.
Fatus’s main activity nonetheless remained interior architecture. He designed reception spaces for the Thomson company and the interior of Pathé Marconi’s flagship store. He also collaborated with Daniel Maurandy on the design of Jacques Borel motorway restaurants and Fnac stores.
In 1965, together with his brother Marc Fatus (1924-1998), an architect, and his cousin Paul Dubrule (born in 1934), he developed the first studies for Novotel, which introduced the concept of the branded hotel chain in France. Fatus subsequently continued to design hotel rooms and hospitality spaces, notably for the Sofitel in Quiberon in 1966 and the Arcade chain from 1973 to 1990.
In this dynamic context, he developed ingenious furniture in Oregon pine and Formica, allowing multiple combinations through modular elements. This furniture was produced by Sentou, with whom he collaborated from 1967 to 1993, and for whom he designed the Sentou gallery on rue du Pont-Louis-Philippe in Paris in 1986.
Invited by general administrator Jean Coural to collaborate with the Atelier de Recherche et de Création (ARC) to furnish public administrations, ministries, and embassies, Fatus proposed a modular conference table combining solid wengé and aluminum, as well as a low table in midnight-blue Formica. Both were presented at the 1967 SAD.
The rigor of these designs earned him the national Furniture Grand Prize in 1968. That same year, he was appointed Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters, and in 1969 he received the René Gabriel Prize. After teaching at ENSAD, he was appointed professor of interior architecture at the École Camondo in 1969, where he served as director from 1982 to 1989.