Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec Reinvent Convention
February 15, 2008 | Levent OZLER
The first thing you notice when you walk into Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec's design studio in Paris is a screen of multicolored felt tiles.
The tiles slot together, so you can replace ones that become damaged or dirty, and change the pattern by introducing new colors.
The screen can be made as big or as small as you wish, and is so light that it can hang just about anywhere.
Like almost everything else the Bouroullecs have designed, those felt tiles are intended to be as flexible as possible.
They can be used to "build" impromptu walls in open-plan spaces, and taken with you if you move to another place.
The tiles are more like works in progress, than finished products, because it's up to their owners to decide how they'd like to use them.
"Our starting point is always what people need from each product," said Erwan Bouroullec.
"We recognize that their needs are bound to change over time, and that the product has to be flexible enough to change too."
more: iht.com/articles/2008/01/18/arts/design21.php (140)
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