Designers of incredible pieces of furniture,
Ronan (far left) and Erwan Bouroullec (left) are busy building
a reputation founded on astonishing originality. Christopher
Kanal speaks to the brothers who reveal that, while they share
the same background, their success is largely due to their individuality
and opposing philosophical approaches.
French brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have been working
together for more than ten years and in that time have produced
extraordinary pieces of furniture, earning them a remarkable
reputation as Europes most original design team. It is
a collaboration based not only on their special relationship
as brothers, but also on their distinct personalities. In Gary
Hustwits acclaimed 2009 documentary on design, Objectified,
the duo described themselves as a fox (Ronan) and a hedgehog
(Erwan), employing philosopher Isaiah Berlins categorisation
of intellectuals, which divided them into foxes, who know many
things and hedgehogs, who know one big thing.
It is an intriguing description of both the way they work and
their complexity.
Originally from Brittany, Ronan, born in 1971 and the older
of the two, was the first to become a designer. Erwan, who is
five years younger, studied art before working with his sibling.
In 1997, the brothers presented their Disintegrated Kitchen
at the Salon du Meuble in Paris. It was here that they were
spotted by Giulio Cappellini, which led to their first major
industrial design projects, including the Closed Bed and the
Spring Chair. This was followed by a commission from the designer
Issey Miyake, who asked them to create an interior for his new
APC shop in Paris.
Their biggest breakthrough, however, was a decisive meeting
with the chairman of Vitra, Rolf Fehlbaum, which resulted
in their development of a new kind of office system, Joyn, manufactured
in 2002. This was the beginning of a special partnership that
has
borne fruit in the form of numerous projects, including Algues,
the Alcove Sofa,
the Worknest, the Slow Chair and the Vegetal.
Since 2004 the Bouroullecs have also been working with Magis,
designing
two complete furniture collections, Striped and Steelwood. Today,
Ronan and
Erwan design for numerous manufacturers as well as Vitra and
Magis, including
Kvadrat, Kartell, Established and Sons, Ligne Roset and Cappellini.
Since 2001 they have worked in an experimental capacity at
Galerie Kreo
in Paris, where they have maintained the activity that has been
essential to
the development of their work. They have held five exhibitions,
with the last
one this spring, where they experimented with lighting. The
exhibition had
a certain delicacy in terms of the materials used: leather covered
the Lianes
lamps electrical wires, their Roches shelving units were
painted with a finish
of matte mineral-looking paint and the Conque lamps were mirrored
to give
a sense of mystery when lit up. The brothers have compared their
work for the
gallery to the use of a sketch pad where they can explore different
media and
extraordinary techniques that are rejected by industry.
The Bouroullecs were voted Designers of the Year at the Salon
du Meuble in 2002. In 2009, the Vegetal chair won the ICFF award
for outdoor furniture.
Their work is part of numerous international collections including
the
Musée National dArt Moderne, the Centre Pompidou
and the Musée des
Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in
New York, the Art
Institute of Chicago, the Design Museum in London, and the Museum
Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam.
They have also expanded into several architectural projects
including La
Maison Flottante (The Floating House) in 2006, Camper
stores in Paris and
Copenhagen (2009), and the Casa Camper Hotels restaurant,
Dos Palillos, in
Berlin (2010).
The Bouroullecs are currently working on the launch of a new
collection of
elements for the bathroom for Hansgrohe/Axor, which took several
years to be
developed. Axor Bouroullec will debut in Paris in June.
|
|
Christopher Kanal: What is your working relationship as brothers?
Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec: We grew up with the same background
and same deep relationship with shape and colour. However, we
didnt go to the same school or have the same friends,
so we can have quite different points of view. We have a very
high level of understanding of each other but still disagree
occasionally. On our projects, we always reach the same opinion,
but it is not always evident from the beginning. It requires
a long process of discussion and agreement.
We comment and criticise if necessary, and often have very
frank and animated discussions. Every project is discussed at
length at each step of the project, and in the end what is important
is that we find a common view, a solution that satisfies both
of us. When we disagree, we try everything possible to find
an agreement.
CK: How would you characterise your work?
RB: Well, this is a difficult
question for us. We are happy to read about our projects, to
see what people suggest and to review comments from journalists
that describe them, but as for characterising our
work and our projects ourselves, we do not feel comfortable
doing this.
CK: Can you describe your design process?
EB: What we feel makes a successful
designer is his or her ability to keep the line with the projects
from A to Z, knowing that the process is highly complex and
full of obstacles. To be capable of integrating this complexity
while keeping the essence of the initial project, is the number
one difficulty for us. It is easy to have an idea yet it is
challenging to make it real. This is, in a few words, all the
complexity of leading a design project successfully. We tend
to do this every day.
CK: What is your relationship like with
manufacturers?
RB: We work with a distinct group
of manufacturers, like Vitra, for example.
Working in collective intelligence is very important to us.
We do not work with compromises. Erwan and I question the project
over and over again to be certain that we are following a good
path, which will lead to the closest good design.
We follow this philosophy with the manufacturers we are working
with.
EB: I would add that as designers,
our everyday concern is to find the right balance between a
variety of parameters that each object is made of. Design is
a multifaceted discipline. What drives us is the quest for the
good harmony between all these parameters, which can be tangible
(i.e. shape, colour, size, weight, etc.) or intangible (i.e.
sensuality, comfort, etc.) It is not exclusively the search
for the right balance between form and function. We share this
with the manufacturers we are working with.
CK: Can craft ever be reconciled with
mass-production?
EB: Furniture and product design
sit exactly between craftsmanship and industry. It is, or should
be, the perfect conciliation between both disciplines.
CK: How did the collaboration for Clouds
for Kvadrat come about?
RB: We actually started working
with Kvadrat after initially turning them down when they invited
us to design their showroom in Stockholm because we are not
architects. After several months, we agreed that it would be
a great opportunity to try a new way to divide public, or private,
spaces with textile walls. This is how we came up with the idea
of Tiles, which were the main focus design point of the showroom.
CK: Your installation at Galerie Kreo
in Paris touches on your interest in industrial design. Does
mass production interest you?
RB & EB: Our interest in industrial
design is linked to the unlimited reproduction of objects. Nevertheless,
for the past ten years we have been creating in the unique framework
provided by the Galerie Kreo.
This helps us to breathe between other projects. This unique
context has often led us to compare our work for the gallery
to the use of a sketch pad, a more instinctive form of research
free from the constraints imposed by industry, the norms, weight,
size or other issues more or less justified by mass production.
Here, we give ourselves time to explore different media and
extraordinary techniques that are rejected by industry, to approach
unique skills.
Our work for the Galerie Kreo has always produced exceptional
events, and our research is about magic as much as use.
|