Metropolis: Bouroullec Brothers x Vitra

Published in Metropolis’s Products 2025 issue.

Vitra Launches Two New (but Separate) Collections by the Bouroullec Brothers: The Mynt chair and Courier desk, although designed independently, speak to both brothers’ minimalist approach to functional workplaces.

Following three decades of collaborating on innovative products for leading international furniture brands, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec sent shockwaves throughout the design industry when they ended their professional collaboration in 2023. But it hasn’t taken long for them to prove that, despite working solo and out of separate studios, neither brother has lost his edge. Take, for instance, the fresh new pieces they designed independently for Vitra: Ronan’s Courier desk and Erwan’s Mynt chair.

“The idea for this desk emerged during the pandemic, when everyone had to rethink their homes and use them as primary workspaces, says Ronan of Courier. “It’s a simple idea, a desk flexible enough to fit into a wide range of domestic spaces.” And while post-pandemic some companies have required employees to return to the office, there’s continued emphasis on “resimercial” design, which is why this home-office desk is perfectly relevant in the evolving workplace, too.

Ronan’s design language, which underscroed simplicity—peppered with subtly playful and sophisticated notes—is evident in the resulting product, which is “a reduction of the desk to a form that is essential and visceral.” Ronan calls it a “naked solution”: a thin wooden surfaced offered in a dark or natural oak veneer on a die-cast aluminum base in a choice of three colors. On the one hand, its stepped silhouette is thoughtful and whimsical: Viewed from the side, its metal frame, with non-perpendicular legs, evokes a serif typeface—hence the name Courier. But it also has a practical purpose: The lower desktop, measuring 47 1/4 inches wide and 20 inches deep, has enough surface area to hold a laptop and essentials like a cup of morning joe, while the slim raised platform at the back, which adds an additional 9.7 inches, can accommodate a separate screen.

Erwan’s signature style—similarly simple, minimal, and functional, with a twist—is reflected in his Mynt chair. Its clean design comprises a thin seat shell and equally thin back that slopes downward to form armrests on a compact aluminum frame supported by a four- or five-star base. “Mynt is made of very few parts,” says Erwan. “It’s all incredibly optimized, and everything can be exchanged, repaired, and replaced because that’s the key to sustainability.”

The seat and back are available in either plywood with a natural oak finish or 100 percent recycled postindustrial polyamide in basic dark (black) or gray. A zipper-fastened upholstered seat and back covers are easily removable for washing and are offered in a wide array of fabrics—from recycled polyester to a wool-polyester blend—to further customize the chair’s appearance. Meanwhile, its aluminum base can be completed with casters or glides. The bases can all be finished in deep black, but the four-star base is additionally available in soft light, blasted aluminum, or bottle green.

The aforementioned twist is Mynt’s patented mechanism, which enables the seat to move independently of the back. Weight-activated, it adapts to various sitting postures without any external knobs, dials, or levers to fuss with, save for the height-adjustment paddle. “Instead of having just a couple of settings, you’ve got a million positions—the body is surfing on the chair,” the design explains. Like Courier, this chair was designed with the new office in mind, whether it’s at home or the workplace, with this mechanism specifically tailored for shared environments, where sitters may have a wide range of body types and postures.

Although the Bouroullec brothers designed the two pieces individually, one can’t help but notice that they share a remarkably similar aesthetic and, in fact, look like a natural pair. But make no mistake: Ronan and Erwan are two peas in a pod who can create strong stand-alone pieces that are still universal enough to mingle with other furnishings.