Represented in some of the most important international institutions such as MoMA New York or the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Ronan Bouroullec's designs go beyond being practical and flexible, they are refined and define a particular way of living. With BD Barcelona, he speaks about his new collection, the Baton Collection.
You came from the countryside but have made peace with Paris. What made you feel more comfortable in the city?
'I'm usually not satisfied with my life because I don't like the idea of being at ease with myself. I consider life a subject of hidden things and doing new things. I like instability. I was married to someone who loved Paris and knew every street and thing about it. But she hated Brittany, so I had to be a Paris hater. Paris has always been difficult for me because it's a city that doesn't change. There's no movement; it's changing a bit, but it's very conservative, especially compared to other cities. It's not Berlin or Tokyo. It's a beautiful city but could be boring when you want to see the world moving.'
Do you find more change in the countryside?
'Certain types of countryside, yes. Especially in Brittany, with its sea, giant tides, and the countryside, with its constantly changing sky. You have hundreds of colours for the sea. It can be dark and brown or turquoise and transparent. I am sensitive towards this aspect of the landscape. And when I return from Brittany, I am more tired than when I left because I have been feeling everything. To go on the water in the middle of February is to charge myself with colour and cold water. It's about the changing beauty of things. But I do like to disappear in the city. I feel more comfortable now, and I am happy to be in Paris at this moment.'
And how does it feel to reveal the Baton collection?
'Relationships with designers often come with an expectation of success and a price. Here, I am interested in the fact that people see the piece and seem to like the Baton for the simple pleasure of it. They understand it. It's something elemental and carries a ritual. You can hold and move it. Lighting candles, looking at the mirror, and hanging your clothes… I suppose it works around our daily rituals.'
Are you a person with daily rituals or a routine?
'No, I am too lazy for rituals. Even when I am in Brittany, I do practically nothing but still come back exhausted. I sometimes go fishing with my neighbour, his net full of holes and the most dangerous boat in the harbour. Then I go swimming, I draw a bit, I drink. I like to be surrounded by beauty or what I consider beautiful. What interests me is an environment that can change and the objects that generate that environment.'
There's a beautiful simplicity to that. To everything you design. Your apartment also represents this idea. To me, it feels effortless. There's thought, but not obsession.
'I like to have only some pieces. I want to look at them and see them around. That is why this apartment is great with its changing light and areas of space. I like to be surrounded by beauty or what I consider beautiful. What interests me is an environment that can change and the objects that generate that environment. And that's why I like apartamento (magazine) because you choose people surrounded by a beauty generated by their personalities and choices that are not conventional.'
In a way, this apartment is your reaction against Paris because it is constantly changing.
'Connecting it to Baton again, having the handle gives you this idea of moving things around; they come with you and are not fixed in one place. It's very true. I would like to be an architect but prefer making things you can move. I like furniture. Something that you can dismount, that you can live with, and that you can put in another room. I like the fact that you reconfigure things.'
And did this translate directly to the Baton? How did the Batton collection start?
'After Covid, the world began to change again. Everything changed, and it was like moving everything into a new room and trying to find comfort in the unknown. I was thinking about how a paravent can change a domestic context to make it feel like something. It can change how everything looks, even if you live in a tiny room. It could be a wall and separate spaces in so many ways, and if it is made in a textile, it can be dismounted and moved around. The idea was bizarre because its functionality was to change the visual landscape of a room. It is not functional like a tool, but it has a language that triggers feelings. I like that its cast base has the rigidity of stone yet is balanced with a perfect steel piece and a delicate cut.'
More information:
BD Barcelona
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