Johan Brunel

Johan Brunel seeks equations of scale, technology and materials to accompany the birth or rebirth of a place. His projects gather the conditions that will encourage positive interactions between users. His designs for culture and work spaces include the foyer and restaurant at the MC93 theatre in Bobigny, France, and offices for Aéroports de Paris in Orly. Since 2004, as part of his atelier[jes] collective, he has created interactive installations for children in major French museums. Johan Brunel was awarded the 2014 Prix Émile Hermès and the 2015-2016 Prix de l’Académie de France in Rome.

Johan Brunel intends his designs to be comforting rather than simply comfortable. During his time in Japan, he continued his research into “things that feel good”, starting with bath accessories. After working on the role of water as a connector in a social project in Rome, he turned his attention to the objects that transform bathing into an authentic moment in an authentic place, and how to transpose their capacity to foster a restful state of mind into other domains. He began a collaboration with artist and woodworker Shuji Nakagawa, who shares his interest in bathing rituals and the reinterpretation of construction techniques.