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FRANCE MAGAZINE
The Bouroullec BroThers The MoBilier NaTioNal: Four ceNTuries oF DesigN Pleyel Plays a New TuNe

the best of culture, tr avel & art de vivre

Fall 2 01 1

No.99

FALL 2011

The DeSIGN ISSue

The Bouroullec Brothers + Pleyels Piano Forte + Seats for the Seats of Power

An intimate encounter with the very private duo that has rocked the design worldjust in time for their first retrospective at the Centre Pompidou-Metz.
By Amy SerAfin

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The poster for Bivouac features a collage of three Bouroullec instant-classics: their Clouds partition for Kvadrat (2008), Piani lamp for Flos (2011) and Losanges rug for Nanimarquina (2011).

Algues 2004, Vitra Functioning as a room divider or wall hanging, Algues reflects the Bouroullecs predilection for designs that can be customized by the buyer. Inspired by seaweed, the product features branch-like components that can be snapped together and assembled into an infinite variety of forms.

t is characteristic of ronAn and erwAn Bouroullec that they consider Bivouac, their career retrospective at the Centre Pompidou-metz, an opportunity to look ahead, not back. The brothers have been pushing design into the future for more than a decade. we dont really see it as a retrospective, explains erwan at their Belleville atelier, surrounded by prototypes and drawings. weve reached a point in our careers where we have a certain maturity, but as a result, we also have more doubt. we want to do more and do better.
Opening October 7 and running through July 30, this is the Bouroullecs first major museum exhibition in France, though they have been celebrated abroad, notably at the Design Museum in London, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and the Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. Their works have been acquired by such prestigious institutions as the Museum of Modern Art and the Centre Pompidou as well as by Franois Pinault, Karl Lagerfeld and other private collectors. They are often called the most important French designers since Philippe Starck, though they differ from him in style and self-promotion. Whereas Starck has designed everything from toilet brushes to catamarans in a manner that is self-knowingly witty and demanding of attention, the Bouroullecs creations are subtle, stripped to their essentials and quietly poetic. The show in Metz is their biggest yet. Occupying more than 12,000 square feet, it comprises nearly all the brothers creations going back to 1998. Laurent Le Bon, the director of the museum, has been planning this exhibit since he wrote a book about Ronan and Erwan nearly a decade ago, when he was a young curator. I fell in love with their work, he explains. I thought then that if I ever had the chance to head an institution, I would do an exhibition with them. He compares visiting the show to walking through an enchanted forest and coming across clearings, each a universe unto itself. The brothers, who famously control every aspect of what they do, organized the exhibition by ambiance rather than chronology, separating it with their signature partitions such as plastic seaweed,
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foam-and-fabric clouds and a wall of multicolored textile tiles. Hung on a wall 100 feet long and 13 feet high are 280 of their drawings, a combination of project studies and sketches they have done just for pleasure. They named the show Bivouac in reference to the versatile, modular nature of much of their work, and how their furnishings tend to provide shelter or reorganize a space. It can be difficult to tell the brothers apartboth are pale and often unshaven, with reddish hair and intense blue eyes. Most of the time they can be found in their three-story atelier, discussing ideas, taking photographs, building prototypes. According to Erwan, We may have achieved a certain level of public recognition, but we dont live like rock stars. We work pretty much all the time, traveling less than other designers and participating in fewer events. And while both have scaled back to regular office hours since starting families, they admit they are still always working in their heads. They are also extremely private, rarely agreeing to interviews and, when they do, avoiding questions about their personal lives. Ronan, the elder and shyer of the two, picks up a felt-tip pen and sketches throughout our conversation. He admits to being a control freak: It comes from our age difference, the fact that Im the big brother, he explains. I need to see everything, to correct every detail. Erwan, 35, is more at ease, leaning back in his chair and smoking Marlboro Lights while he philosophizes. His interests run from Kurt Cobain to the pared-down sculptures of artist Donald Judd and the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Both would rather read books about

LefT, BeLow And BoTTom:

CenTer, BeLow And BoTTom:

Slow Chair 2007, Vitra This comfortable armchair was created by stretching a precisely shaped knit over a lightweight metal frame like a fitted stocking. Bud vase 1997, Cappellini The pared-down purity of this white polycarbonate vase typifies the Bouroullecs aesthetic.

Ploum 2011, Ligne Roset Inspired by the comfort of Ligne Rosets iconic Togo sofa, the award-winning Ploum is constructed like a sandwich of fabric and foam. Joyn Hut 2004, Vitra Conceived to meet the needs of the contemporary office, this is one element of a flexible system that allows team members to configure their own spaces. Assemblage 3 2004, Prototype, Galerie Kreo This multipurpose piece is part of a series that explores the creation of atmospheres for objects on display.

prehistory (Erwan) or American Indians (Ronan) than about design. They claim there is no hierarchy, and they sign everything jointly. osso chair 2011, Mattiazzi That we agree, thats the major principle of our work, says Ronan. Efforts to build with solid wood while minimizing waste gave rise to this oak, We want to find an ideal solution together, not compromise with maple and ash chair, created using solarone another. They do argue, of course, like most siblingsthough powered, digitally controlled equipment. less than press reports would have you believe, says Anniina Koivu. Lit Clos 2000, Limited Edition, Galerie Kreo A former journalist, she spent a great deal of time with the brothers A nod to the traditional raised beds of the Bouroullecs native Brittany, the Lit while writing the text for the new Phaidon monograph about them, Clos carves out a private sleeping area due out in the spring (the previous one dates from 2003). The public for people who live and work in the same perception is that they fight all the time, she laughs. Ive seen them open-plan space. annoyed by one another, but Ive never seen any fighting. Growing up in Brittany, their age difference was too great for them to share friends or even go to the same schools together. They both started drawing as children, and their parentsneither of whom came from an arts backgroundwere perceptive enough to enroll them in a Wednesday class at the local art academy. Ronan wasnt academically inclined, so he went to a high school that emphasized applied arts. I had always hated school, but there I found the jumping-off point for a passion that never ended, he recalls. After graduation he moved to Paris and enrolled at the Ecole Nationale Suprieure des Arts Dcoratifs. Erwan, an excellent student, received his baccalaureate in science, then followed his brother to Paris to study fine arts. When Ronan started working, his younger brother helped out, and their transition to partnership sometime in 1999 came so naturally that neither one can recall the moment they became a design team. As Erwan describes it, Before that, we lived together and did stuff together. Then later, there was a moment when we began creating a common body of work. It is fundamentally different and has linked us in a very particular way. We are interdependent, which is great and at the same time uncomfortable, psychologically speaking. Because the time comes when you ask yourself about genetics, stuff like that. You wonder, Am I worth anything alone? Ronan had more of a chance to find That we agree, thats the major that out, given that he started out on principle of our work. we want to his own and quickly drew attention in his field. At the 1997 Salon du Meuble find an ideal solution together, not in Paris, he showed his Disintegrated compromise with one another. Kitchen, a basic wood and aluminum frame that could be customized by adding drawers, shelves and other elements. It caught the eye of Giulio Cappellini, whose eponymous design company was one of the most influential players of the late 20th century. I fell in love with that beautiful product, recalls Cappellini in his rich Italian accent. I told the people at the fair that I wanted to meet the designer. Someone said, Yes, hes here, we will call him. I waited five minutes, 10 minutes, and nobody appeared. Finally I asked again, and was told he was out back because when he found out that Giulio Cappellini wanted to speak with him, he got very nervous. So I went to see him, and there he was in the back of the booth, smoking. When asked for his version of the story, Ronan doesnt remember hidingthough he blushingly admits it could have happenedbut he does remember that a journalist who was with Cappellini told him his life had just changed. It was the type of comment that sounds ridiculous but actually was true, he remarks. Being part of Cappellini, he says, was the equivalent of playing for a major soccer team and propelled him to a whole new level.
riGHT, BeLow And BoTTom:

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Clouds partition 2008, Kvadrat The skys the limit when it comes to combining the components of the Cloud system, which can be used as a room divider, wall hanging or something entirely different, depending on the consumer. Shown here with the brothers Box (2004) from Vitra and Aio coffeepot (2000) from Habitat.

facett 2005, Ligne Roset An unassembled Facett chair hangs over a railing in the Bouroullecs studio like a gigantic animal hide. Origami was one of the inspirations for this collection.

S THAT unConvenTionAL kiTCHen

illustrated, the Bouroullecs introduced a brand-new idea of design. They were looking not simply to make better-looking chairs but entirely new categories of furniture. Influenced by no one, they began with a fresh slate, ultimately modifying the way people live and work. We really started out just the two of us. So we are, in a way, selftaught, says Erwan. Since we tinker around ourselves, we find our own solutions, trying to learn as much as possible in the process. We are always trying out an idea, revisiting it, building and rebuilding prototypes. Its an extremely rigorous approach mixed with a certain inexperience. I think it is that combination that led us to the major discoveries in our work, like partitioning space. Early on they were asked to create the design for an exhibition, and they set out to do the simplest project possible: something with standard parts, easy to assemble and adaptable. They laser-cut elements out of polystyrene, creating forms that could be infinitely repeated and stacked to fit any interior. Afterwards, Cappellini marketed them as shelving components called Brick. The brothers would return to this concept again and againmassproduced, three-dimensional components that could be assembled according to the users whim. Algues, for instance, consists of plastic elements that snap together into textured partitions resembling seaweed. Vitra has sold 4 million units since launching production in 2004. In 2000, the brothers were invited to enter a competition to design the interior of Issey Miyakes new A-POC boutique in the Marais. The Japanese clothing designer selected their application, then gave them three weeks to come up with a project and present it to him in Tokyo. Ronan had to be in Milan for a furniture fair, so Erwan went to see Miyake alone. I had never been to Japan, had never made a long plane trip like that, recalls Erwan. I presented the project to Mr. Miyake. He said Yes, thats good. But he must have seen me as so young. I wasnt even sure who he was. Well, I knew he was important, but not much more. Contacted in Tokyo, Miyake explains that he chose the young designers because of a simple white bud vase they had created. I recognized the values that have always guided me: purity, essentiality, innovation, he responds. But the Bouroullec brothers are also about experimentation, equilibrium, the work of the human hand disappearing behind the obviousness of a creation.

The Bouroullecs introduced a brand-new idea of design. They were looking not simply to make betterlooking chairs but entirely new categories of furniture.
Just as construction on the Paris store was about to start, Miyake came to town and stopped by the site. As Erwan tells it, He came with 30 other people, but he had completely forgotten what the project looked like. He saw the prototype of our design elements and said, Youre not going to put this everywhere? Then he saw a bit of old tile on the floor and said, I hope youre keeping that tile, its beautiful. And we need a hole to let light into the basement. In front of everyone I answered No, Mr. Miyake, its not possible what youre saying. The project isnt that, youre wrong. My brother was kicking me, trying to shut me up, and Mr. Miyake said, This store is not yours, its mine. And he left, bam. A few hours later and more refreshed after his long flight, Miyake called them into his office and reiterated his approval of their project. The brothers stubborn belief in their ideas and their resistance to
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THiS PAGe:

kvadrat showroom 2006 The airy showroom for Kvadrat in Stockholm features the brothers North Tiles modular wall system. The scalelike tiles fold together, making it easy to reconfigure the space as necessary.

oPPoSiTe, ToP To BoTTom:

Alcove loveseat 2007, Vitra The brothers fascination with enclosed spaces is reflected in their Alcove collection of chairs and sofas; high backs and sides create an intimate nest. Pebbles 2008, Tectona Designed for outdoors, the concave disks comprising the woven-resin Pebble collection blend naturally into the landscape.

Brittanythe traditional Breton bed is a raised wooden box. Made of painted plywood, steel and aluminum, it can be put together and taken apart as easily as IKEA furniture. But the similarity ends there: In 2006, a Lit Clos sold at auction in New York for $96,000.
He duo workS wiTH A HAndfuL of

compromise served them then, money doesnt drive them. and it has done so ever since. Last year they spent much of their Similar to Miyakes A-POC time developing a small wooden collection, where the wearer cuts tubes of cloth to fit her chair for a family-owned company body, the Bouroullecs furniture that specializes in high-quality can often be customized by the craftsmanship. user. Their Zip carpet has different colored strips that can be fastened in any sequence, their Spring Chair has an adjustable headrest like a cars, and their was different from anything on the market. They were already Joyn office system allows for a myriad of workplace configura- thinking in terms of architecturing interiors with creations like little tions. Lianes, one of their more recent creations for the Galerie houses. Their first exhibition for the gallery, in 2001, included CaKreo, is a lighting system that lets the user slide spotlights vertically bane, wool-covered strips woven together to resemble an open hut or horizontally along leather-sheathed cords. (The Italian lighting large enough to shelter a chair and a sofa, and Parasol Lumineux, company Flos is now producing an industrial version.) an oversized square lamp that looks like a beach umbrella. Many of The brothers started collaborating with Kreo, Didier and these designs seem less revolutionary today than when the Bouroullecs Clmence Krzentowskis gallery devoted to design exploration, soon created them, simply because theyve since been so widely emulated. after it opened in 1999. It offered the perfect playground, allowing In 2002, the gallery produced the limited-edition Lit Clos, a them to design without industrial constraints. Everything they do is semi-enclosed bed raised on four legs like a tree house. It is one new, says Didier Krzentowski. From the beginning, their signature of several creations that obliquely reference their childhood in
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companies and turns down many others. Their freedom is non-negotiable; they take their time and do only what they want. One reason they can stay independent is that they have a small atelier with no more than seven employees. Another is that they generally refuse interior decoration projects. Instead they create objects that generate a constant stream of income through royalties. But money doesnt drive them. Last year they chose to spend much of their time developing a small wooden chair, Osso, for Mattiazzi, a family-owned Italian company that specializes in high-quality craftsmanship. Financially this probably wasnt the most intelligent choice, but being a small operation, we have the flexibility to tackle projects that interest us, and to do it in an obsessive way, says Ronan. Many designers have a Coca-Cola policy. The Bouroullecs are more Dom Prignon or Krug. So says Michel Roset, co-owner of Ligne Roset, a family-run multinational and the only French company the brothers currently count among their clients. This fall, Rosets company is releasing Ploum, a quilted settee that took more than a year of research. The idea for it occurred one day when Roset and the brothers were talking about the Togo sofa by Michel Ducaroy, a company bestseller for the past 30 years. They decided theyd like to make the equivalent of Togo for the 21st century, recalls Roset. One of Togos most attractive features is its extreme comfort, so the Bouroullecs knew they would have to make a couch you would never want to climb out of. The cover is a single piece of fabric thick, quilted and elastic in two directions. The foam underneath is remarkably soft yet resilient, springing back when you stand up. Together they form a complicated sandwich nearly a foot thick. When you sit on the couch, youre really in a kind of nest, says Roset. Because its one piece, the couch moves with you whenever you change position. Aesthetically, the brothers compare it to a piece of ripe fruit, and indeed the red one looks like an overgrown strawberry. Earlier this year, Ploum won a red dot award, an honor reserved for the best of the best in product design. The last time they received this prestigious award was in 2008, for Worknest, an ingenious office chair for Vitra. The Swiss brand is their most important industrial collaborator, the rare company that encourages innovation without imposing briefs or deadlines. Vitras CEO, Rolf Fehlbaum, caught wind of Disintegrated Kitchen in the late 1990s and subsequently hired the brothers to design an office system, something they had never done before. They experimented for a good two years before releasing Joyn in 2002. At the heart of Joyn is a communal table, much like a farm table. Its a blank slate where each individual in the group can customize his space with

dividers, pencil holders, a tray for coffee and so on. Joyn sold extremely well and led to Alcove in 2007, a sofa with an extra-high back and sides. While Joyn permitted an office full of people to work together without getting on each others nerves, Alcove gave them a place to retreat to when they needed to be alone. According to Anniina Koivu, the one-time journalist who now works as PR Director for Vitra, This idea of creating a room-withina-room with a sofa, that was a huge innovation in the market. Of course now we see many similar sofas and boxes and lounges and islands; theyve become rather common. But it was Alcove that triggered that. The piece has become one of the brothers all-time best-sellers. Even Erwan, who (like his brother) lives with little of his own furniture, has an Alcove sofa at home. Their next important undertaking will be at the Chteau de Versailles, where they recently won a competition to design lighting for the Escalier Gabriel, a staircase whose construction was interrupted in the 18th century and completed in 1985. Their first sketches are due this fall. But this project poses a whole new set of challenges for them. As Erwan explains, We like the idea that design is something thats not anchored somewhere, that it can go anywhere, that you dont know what it will become. That gives us the freedom to fantasize and experiment. But Versailles thats something else. Versailles is going to be around for a long time. f And so, of course, will they.
Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Bivouac runs from October 7, 2011, through July 30, 2012, at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, 1 parvis des Droits-de-lHomme, Metz. Tel. 33/3-87-15-39-39; centrepompidou-metz.fr. An iPad app to accompany the exhibition is in the works; possible successive venues are currently being discussed.
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