Officina chair by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec | Photography courtesy of Magis
The Officina Chair by the Bouroullec Brothers is already being hailed as a future classic just a few years after its debut.
Few designer chairs set themselves up for being a future classic only a few years after they hit the market. However, the Bouroullec brothers, Ronan and Erwan, have established a reputation for producing some of the most innovative and commercial designs since they started working together in 1997. While the Officina was produced by the Italian company Magis in 2017, the high back version was released in 2016 and sold through Living Edge. “The crafting of wrought iron by hammering is one of the oldest techniques used to shape metal. For the Magis Officina collection, we wanted to use this antique process to create a new visual language. So, we imagined a system of legs with new geometries that could sustain elements of different sizes and materials,” say Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.
The hand-forged sinuous legs on the Officina Highback chair in this collection, provide a subtle juxtaposition between the seat and curved back. The high back design offers comfort and support, making it suitable for both workspaces and relaxation areas, and has become available upholstered in premium leather or a range of Kvdrat fabrics. The combination of the delicate frame, extending to the support for the chair’s backrest makes the sitter feel as though they are being held in the palm of the designers’ hands, crafted after years of experience and training – Ronan having studied at the Ecole Nationale des Arts Decoratifs in Paris and Erwan, his younger brother, at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Cergy-Pontoise. Together, they have made an indelible mark not just on furniture, such as the Officina Highback chair, but in numerous design fields, including tableware, rugs, textiles and other household objects – many of which are represented in major collections such as the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York, the Musee des Arts Decoratifs and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Project M by Frederic Kielemoes | Photography by Thomas De Bruyne
Officina Chair by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec | Courtesy of Magis
Officina Chair by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec | Courtesy of Magis
Many of the chairs and tables designed by Ronan and Erwan were, like the Officina chair, conceived for the office, and are now likely to appear in a living area at home. Interior designer Jacquie Pask, director of Moss, sees the Officina Highback Armchair as literally ‘inviting you to take a seat’. “I love the simplicity of the design,” says Jacquie, who also sees a certain ‘strength and personality’ in the brothers’ design. “The chair can easily stand on its own in, say, a living area, but can just as easily work as a pair next to an open fireplace,” she adds.
For the Bouroullec brothers, who have designed for Cappellini, Lignet Roset, and even Issey Miyake, creating Miyake’s Apoc store in Paris, there’s no stopping this extremely talented duo, with their Officina Highback Chair being recognised as a future classic only after a few years after its release. Many of their other innovative creations are also worthy of being future classics – even icons, as time passes. The antique process of hand forging this chair’s frame, one of the oldest techniques used to make furniture, also responds to the ethos of most great designers – that the future is also reflected in the past.
North Carlton Residence by Hecker Guthrie | Photography by Shannon McGrath
