The Bouroullec brothers’ ’Album’ show, Bordeaux

They are known for their designs for the likes of Vitra, Magis and Cappellini, so you'd be forgiven for a expecting another polished selection of products from the Bouroullec brothers at their latest show in Bordeaux. But there's not a new chair or lighting design in sight at the Arc en Rêve Architecture Centre. Instead, the exhibition space's walls are given up to some 800 documents, photographs, sketches and mock-up outlines taken from the Ronan and Erwan's archives, giving a rare glimpse into the minds behind the hugely successful designs.
Titled 'Album', the show is about 'translating the multiplicity of what we do in a panoramic set up,' they say. Despite the wealth of material on display, no hierarchy is given to individual items, whether they relate to industrial projects, galleries, architectural designs or research projects, and all are framed in the same way. An entire wall is even given over to a hundred drawings of chairs that made it into production.
From what looks like doodles with felt tip pens, through to photographs of their latest designs for Alessi, the exhibition acts as a kind of treasure trail through the creative world of the French duo.
The exhibition is about ’translating the multiplicity of what we do in a panoramic set up,’ they say
Despite the wealth of material on display, no hierarchy is given to individual items, whether they relate to industrial projects, galleries, architectural designs or research projects, and all are framed in the same way
One wall of the show is even given over to chairs that never made it into production
A sketch of a chair
A photograph of the Ovale collection by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Alessi, 2010
A sketch of a chair
A photograph of the ’Vegetal’ chair by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec for Vitra, 2008
The Axor Bouroullec bathroom collection, 2010, which won our Best Bathroom award
ADDRESS
Arc en Rêve Architecture Centre
Entrepôt 7 rue Ferrère 33000 Bordeaux
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Malaika Byng is an editor, writer and consultant covering everything from architecture, design and ecology to art and craft. She was online editor for Wallpaper* magazine for three years and more recently editor of Crafts magazine, until she decided to go freelance in 2022. Based in London, she now writes for the Financial Times, Metropolis, Kinfolk and The Plant, among others.
-
Ghanaian cuisine has a story to tell at Washington, DC restaurant Elmina
The new restaurant is chef Eric Adjepong’s colourful ode to the recipes he grew up loving
By Sofia de la Cruz
-
Pedro y Juana's take on architecture: 'We want to level the playing field’
Mexico City-based architects Padro y Juana bring their transdisciplinary, participatory approach to the Mexico pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025; find out more
By Ellie Stathaki
-
The Sialia 45 cruiser is a welcome addition to the new generation of electric boats
Polish shipbuilder Sialia Yachts has launched the Sialia 45, a 14m all-electric cruiser for silent running
By Jonathan Bell