Erwan Bouroullec graduated in art from École nationale superieure d’arts de Paris-Cergy in 1998, one year after his brother Ronan graduated in design from École Nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris.
The brothers started working together in 1998 after the two of them hade been spotted by Cappellini. Their first project for the company was Ronan’s concept for the modular Disintergrated Kitchen, which was followed by Erwan’s design of the Lit Clos sleeping cabin.
In 1999 they started working together on a more permanent basis and in the following year they got a commission from Issey Miyake to design the interior of the A-POC boutique in Paris. In 2000 they started a collaboration with Vitra, for which they developed the Joyn office system that was launched in 2002 and the Alcove sofa in 2008. Two years later they also began working with Magis, for which they among other has created the Steelwood collection, consisting of chairs combining steel and wood in a creative manner (2007).
In 2010 the Bouroullec brothers made their first lamp for Flos. In 2015 they designed the outdoor dining and lounge set Palissade Collection for Hay and in 2020 they made the Rope Chair for Artek, where flax or polyester rope is used as back and arm rests.
Their first architectural projects included the Floating House for CNEAI in Chatou, France and in 2006 the Pavillion Modulable – Kiosque for Emierge in 2015.
Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec have made several exhibitions, such as Étapes (2008), Bivouac at the Centre-Pompidou-Metz and Musuem of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Ilinois (2011/2012), Rêveries, 17 Screens, Rétrospective and Kiosque that were shown simultaneously at three different institutions in Rennes, France (2016). They’ve also been the subject of a couple of monographic exhibitions starting with Design Museum London in 2002 and at Contemporary Art in 2004. In 2013, the Gabriel Chandelier was installed as the first permanent contemporary artwork in the Chateau de Versailles.
