Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec (born 1971 and 1976) are brothers noted for their design work, which has been featured in publications and museums globally — and spans a wide range from tables and chairs to tableware, rugs, textile walls, office furniture, ceramics, art objects and urban projects.

Early life and education

Brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec were born in

Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography The ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, where previous generations of their family had farmed. Ronan studied at the

École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs The École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ÉnsAD, also known as Arts Decos', École des Arts Décoratifs) is a public grande école of art and design of PSL Research University. The school is located in the Rue d'Ulm in Paris. Profil ...

, subsequently assisted by his brother, Erwan, who graduated from

École nationale supérieure d'arts de Paris-Cergy The École nationale supérieure d'arts de Paris Cergy is a National public school of art and design established in Cergy-Pontoise. It is one of the 5 National Art school in France, run by the French Ministry of Culture (France). Recognized as ...

Career

In 2007, the firm's "North Tiles" design for

Kvadrat Kvadrat may refer to: * Kvadrat (company), a Danish textile design company * Kvadrat (shopping centre) in Norway * ''Kvadrat'' (film), a documentary feature film about the realities of techno DJing * 2K12 Kub The 2K12 ''"Kub"'' (russian: 2� ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

won the D - Design

Forum AID Award The Forum AID Award was a Nordic architecture and design award, given annually by the Swedish magazine Forum AID. AID is an acronym for the three subject-matters of the magazine - Architecture, Interior design and Design - and it is also the three ...

and has been included in

Giulio Cappellini Giulio Cappellini is the founder and art director of the eponymous Italy, Italian furniture company Cappellini based in Milan. In 2004 the Company became part of the Poltrona Frau Group. In 2021, it was acquired by the American office furnisher Haw ...

's design collection. Their work has included a

tree house A tree house, tree fort or treeshed is a platform or building constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, a han ...

bedroom and a "table sprouting a bowl molded from a single piece of heat-welded

Corian Corian is a brand of solid surface material created by DuPont. Its primary use is as a countertop and benchtop surface, though it has many other applications. It is composed of acrylic polymer and alumina trihydrate (ATH), a material derive ...

". The designs have been described as representing poetic practicality. "We don't want to make only functional pieces," Erwan Bouroullec noted. The design team works from their company base in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, Atelier Bouroullec, for clients including Cappellini,

Ligne Roset Ligne Roset is a French modern furniture company that has over 200 stores and more than 1,000 retail distributors worldwide. The company was founded by Antoine Roset in 1860 in Montagnieu, France as a small business manufacturing bentwood walking ...

Habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

, Domeau & Peres, Authentics, EandW, Magis, Vitra,

HAY Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

, and Gallery Kreo.ronan + erwan bouroullec
Design Boom They received the 1998 grand prix du jury international at the

Maison et Objet Maison et Objet is a major French trade fair for interior design. Held bi-annually in Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center, it has been described as "among the 3 most important European events for interior design ... a huge collection of innova ...

furniture fair in Paris, the best new designer award in New York in 1999, a Compasso d'Oro nomination in 2001 in Milan, and designed the interior for

Issey Miyake was a Japanese fashion designer. He was known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances, such as '' L'eau d'Issey'', which became his best-known product. Life and career Miyake was born on 22 April 1938 in Hirosh ...

’s APOC shop in Paris. In 2006, the Cneai invited them to design the "Floating House", an artist residence. In 2011, the

Centre Pompidou-Metz The Centre Pompidou-Metz is a museum of Modern art, modern and contemporary art located in Metz, capital of Lorraine (region), Lorraine, France. It is a branch of Centre Georges Pompidou, Pompidou arts centre of Paris, and features semi-permanent ...

hosts a major retrospective on the Bouroullec brothers. The show traveled to the United States and exhibited at the

Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Art (often abbreviated to MCA, MoCA or MOCA) may refer to: Africa * Museum of Contemporary Art (Tangier), Morocco, officially le Galerie d'Art Contemporain Mohamed Drissi Asia East Asia * Museum of Contemporary Art Shangha ...

in Chicago. Their work has been published in numerous books, and the brothers were interviewed in

Gary Hustwit Gary Hustwit is an American independent filmmaker and photographer. He is best known for his design documentaries, which examine the impact of trends in graphic design, typography, industrial design, architecture, and urban planning. He told '' ...

's 2009 documentary about

industrial design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advan ...

called ''Objectified''. In 2014, the Bouroullecs were awarded the Panerai London Design Medal award. Apart from exclusive exhibitions, many of their lighting designs are permanently housed in museums across the globe, including the Musée National d’Art Moderne – Centre Pompidou and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris;

Museum of Modern Art, New York The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

;

The Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

Design Museum The Design Museum in Kensington, London exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all funds generat ...

, London; and the

Museum Boijmans van Beuningen Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen () is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from the two most important collectors of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. It is located at ...

, Rotterdam.

Main achievements

References

External links

*
Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec
on the

Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec collection
at Vitra {{DEFAULTSORT:Bouroullec, Ronan And Erwan 1971 births 1976 births Living people Brand name materials Design companies of France French designers Breton artists École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs alumni Companies based in Paris Compasso d'Oro Award recipients