Ervan Bourulec opens the doors of his home workshop in Burgundy.

“Sometimes in Paris I get the impression that my Haussmannian apartment looks at me in a distrustful manner. He told me: “No, no, no, you’re not up to anything, especially with your filthy methods.” Here, on the contrary, everything tells me. “Come on, go!” “. And designer Erwan Bourulec didn’t need to be asked when he was given carte blanche to show off the walls of the property he bought five years ago in this glamorous corner of Burgundy.

It took four years before he and his wife and two daughters moved into the barn, the main part of this old farm. “Everything was almost done, but I was having a really hard time fitting in. I was kind of stuck because we didn’t have beds. And then, one evening, I drew them. I figured them in Douglas pine, endemic to the region, which we used to restore the frame and some of the partitions. I gave my sketches to the carpenter we were working with, he made them. And we moved.”

Furniture as small architecture

In the bedrooms, on the ground floor, these box springs, set in tall wooden uprights like a cabin silhouette, symbolize the tendencies of Erwan Buroulek, who often designs furniture as a small architecture within a larger architecture. A spirit we find in his Kobold sofa, produced by Cinna, which frames the living room area in the main room on the first floor. “At first it was going to be called Forti, but Michel Rosette, who runs Cinna, didn’t want a belligerent term. However, it has something of a small castle, you feel surrounded, which makes it incredibly comfortable. You can hide there, sleep there or find your way there.”

This sofa was not born from an authoritarian design approach, Erwan Buroulek is above all a listener. “I had several requirements: everything should be portable, there should be storage attached to the seat… I told the teams about it, and then I just heard it. It was from the collected information that I arbitrated and made decisions, but in a very simple way. I actually try to be less and less creative and don’t have many ideas a priori. I like to understand who people are, how things are done, and then respond to the request.”

Extend the life of the building

The house reflects this state of mind. Because Ervan with the firm Le Dévéhat Vuarnesson Architectes let the places do the talking. If very modern and very visible interventions have been made, such as metal chimneys stretching proudly from the roof, large open windows that allow the eye to pass from one scene to another, concrete slabs have been waxed, the new frame has been left open. .., what could be preserved: stone floor and walls, logs…

“The great thing about farms is that they’re constantly changing to adapt to new methods, the arrival of animals… We were resourceful there. And what we’ve done here is just a natural step in the life of this build. I am part of his story. Besides, I was happy when the carpenter said that what we have acquired will extend the life of this building by two centuries.”

Renovated farmhouse

This non-violently renovated farm is an environment that seems to satisfy Erwan Buroulek. Or rather, to bring him peace. He, who produced a lot as a duo with his brother Ronan, had what he describes as a “brilliant career as a racehorse”, ran a lot “in a very intuitive and sometimes extreme way”, wants to be alone today. , take the time to “get things right”.

As in the architecture of this house, he prefers clarity and precision in his work. “I want to design furniture because, after all, I’m not so interested in objects whose materials are recognizable, made by equally legible processes.

I want to avoid all types of corruption, so that they are as universal as possible, so that the consumer immediately understands what he is buying. I no longer see my work other than through transparency. » The outdoor armchair he designed for the Hay brand, prototyped as a guard at the entrance to the house, is a great example of this approach. Nothing hidden in the complex design.

Prepare your furniture

“This chair, which consists of a frame, a wooden bar and 45 screws, is very straight. This makes it possible to optimize production, transport and reduce costs. Ships flat and buyer collects. This does not require any expertise, anyone can do it. For me, the fact that we “make” our furniture is the best way to make it comfortable and acceptable in the family. We understand it better, respect it, and are even more proud of it. Its emotional value is even greater.”

If we notice a form of rusticity in these words, however, it cannot be a question of nostalgia, but of a creative and welcome austerity, a soothing sobriety, which Erwan Buroulek describes as “positive minimum”.

“Make no mistake, I am not leaving the industry. Here I think about it differently. I can’t wait to show my chair, which will be launched by Vitra in February 2025. it is hyperdynamic, incredibly light, on the go. It finds its sources in this place. And I don’t see a contrast between this chair, a sofa, a basket made of a box, drawings immersed in a pool… I want to multiply the information, but without repetition of signs, so that the space is convenient. everyone.”

I no longer see my work except through transparency

Ervan Burulek

Absence of extras

The kitchen he designed, of course, encapsulates this efficiency with a complete absence of excess. And to experience this simplicity is to be available to watch the sun enveloping the countryside, to admire the storm rushing through the trees, to play, to have fun, to invent. This moderation also allows for modularity; everything can be adapted to visitors and circumstances. “I welcomed 25 students here for a week during a workshop at ECAL, the cantonal art school in Lausanne, where I teach. The theme of this meeting was “Almost nothing”. The disciples got what they wanted, but only with what was available. It was great. So much so that I started again this year, but with 50 participants.”

We bet the younger generation, like Erwan Buroulek, grabbed the treasures gathered from the surrounding forests to make supports, mounts, useful items. Because inside the farm we can experience the richness of the outside. Branches become table legs, stools, doorknobs, picture frames…

“I spent my childhood in the village, I think that’s why I like to do things with my hands. Here I am very fast. When we made the Arba armchair models for Raawi, we wanted to test the armchair. A piece of metal was missing. I went looking for buildings where there were still abandoned things. And I found a pile of rusty stuff. I pulled out the piece I needed. I feel like I’m in this incredibly flexible place. Much more than in Paris. Maybe my efficiency in the city is somewhere else, like in coding.”

Colored dots

Because Erwan Buroulek certainly doesn’t ignore the tools of the times. Of course, in the workshops located in the old hangars, machines from another time, not very precise, but strong, allow Ervan to cut, drill, sand and carry out his plans. But we see, on a long table facing the village, a computer, a tablet, with which he develops certain motifs for his artworks. Coding created a large canvas hanging on the wall of a huge hangar that serves as a photo studio, tractor garage, office, and more.

Its colored dots evoke an ecosystem as well as mobs and roots. Metal, textile, paper… painted, deformed, wet, crumpled, forgotten… Erwan Buroulek holds nothing back when it comes to artistic expression. We find the result of this free but also very thoughtful approach at home, his works are interwoven in this atmosphere where every element has its own meaning and function. An arrangement that reflects the way of thinking. Just as Erwan’s website recently went online. “It’s a bit of a maze, layer upon layer without classification. That’s what’s important to me today, contributing to the many practices I carry out, especially in this house.”

erwan.bouroullec.com