Background
Denis Montel and Julia Capp met at RDAI, the architecture, interior architecture & design studio founded in 1972 by Rena Dumas. A graduate of the École d’Architecture Paris-La Défense, the first professional experiences of Denis were transdisciplinary. For ten years he collaborated with agencies leading a variety of projects including architecture, interior architecture, landscape, scenography and brand design. He joined RDAI in 1999 directing major projects of the agency. When Rena Dumas passed away in 2009, he was appointed General Manager and artistic director. Julia, an architect & designer, is Australian, and after having worked in Asia moved to Europe in 1998 and joined RDAI. She has worked in London, Hong Kong and Shanghai, where she developed residential and commercial projects – including hotels and clubs. In 2014 Julia attended the French Fashion Institute in Paris where she completed her MBA. Today Julia is the agency’s Managing Director.
Signature Style
RDAI’s holistic approach, brings together the practices of architecture, interior architecture and design. By embracing context as well as customs and traditions, the studio delivers cross-disciplinary projects that are coherent and contemporary. Denis and Julia strip away the superfluous to lay bare the essential, with an intuitive as well as conceptual approach.
Showstoppers
Their high-profile collaborations include residential interiors with Renzo Piano, a museum with Coldefy, and Hermès stores all over the world. The uniqueness of each design is a result of pure lines, laser-like focus on details and supreme craft quality. A collection of exquisite pieces designed by the late Rena Dumas, reissued by RDAI are available through The Invisible Collection.
