At the core of David/Nicolas' practice is an essential duality. The creative spark between designers David Raffoul and Nicolas Moussallem is derived from a delicate balance: between imagination and stoic logic; unbounded creativity and practical research; a curiosity about the future and a deep respect for the past. The pair met while studying architecture at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts in 2006 and founded their studio in 2011. Over the past decade, they have gained global recognition working across interiors, furniture and product design, leading them to open a second office in Milan in 2021. The move marked a return to Italy after Raffoul and Moussallem earned master’s degrees at the Scuola Politecnica di Design in 2011, prior to Raffoul working at Fabrica, in Treviso, Italy between 2012 and 2013.

David/Nicolas’ work can be described as untethered to a single style or era and is instead an alloy of lived experience and personal research. Both hail from Beirut, Lebanon and the complexities and contradictions of the cosmopolitan city can still be found at the heart of their practice. However, they draw inspiration from concepts as vast as vernacular architecture, photography, electronic music and the canon of Italian design, which is legible in their unwavering fidelity to craftsmanship. The duo has brought this sophisticated sense of cross-cultural experimentation to interiors across Europe, America and the Middle East. Raffoul and Moussallem's approach to each project remains free from preconceived notions or prescriptive narratives, and instead allows the location, its history, and an intuitive dialogue with the client to determine the final work. Theirs is a process that blends their own creative impulses with that of their collaborators, resulting in carefully considered spaces that thoughtfully reflect their inhabitants.