patrick jouin and alki furnish national library of france with discreet wooden 'orria' chairs

patrick jouin + alki furnish historic french national library

For the newly re-opened historic Oval Reading Room at France’s National Library, designer Patrick Jouin collaborates with furniture manufacturer Alki and the French Mobilier National, to present the ‘Orria’ chair. Crafted entirely out of oak wood and finished with luxurious leather upholstery, the chair is a discreet and organic expression of soft, pure lines, seamless intersections, and rigorous technical commitment. Both unique and demanding, the design offers ‘a contemporary interpretation of conviviality characterized by refreshing boldness and emotional attachment’, comments the team at Alki.

Patrick Jouin collaborates with Alki and Mobilier National for ‘Orria’ | all images by Thomas Duval

‘orria’: a discreet expression of pure forms

Combining fine craftsmanship and industrial techniques, the Alki workshop has sustained its unique expertise in working with solid wood and leather to create 150 iterations of the ‘Orria’ chair. Alongside Alki, industrial designer Patrick Jouin has envisioned ‘Orria’ sporting a 100% wooden structure and joinery with a bentwood backrest, topped by thick and plush leather upholstery. With no sharp angles or junctions, the chair expresses seamless, flowing lines and forms, its unique design conveying a sense of luxury emblematic of its context and evocative of France’s heritage.

The ‘Orria’ chair has been created for the French National Library’s Oval Reading Room, and the Mobilier National’s Atelier de Recherche et de Creation — the governmental agency responsible for conserving and curating both historical and contemporary collections. In line with the library’s inclusive principle of accessibility for all, the team’s next ambition is public production and distribution of the chair.

150 ‘Orria’ chairs furnish the historic Oval Reading Room at France’s National Library

the chair echoes its historic context and french culture

‘The rich dialogue between the various participants and their breadth and depth of focus over the course of the project were instrumental in rendering the Orria chair a unique object. The emotional resonance it imparts, the pleasure it procures for the reader, and its symbolic association with its location will make the Orria reading chair an emblematic object for the Oval Room at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, evocative of France’s heritage’, explains Alki.

Alki was established in 1981, emerging from a fierce determination to live and work in the Basque Country. Extending beyond the manufacture of furniture, the cooperative is a committed cultural and economic stakeholder that strives to give purpose to its actions, forging meaningful relationships both within the company and with its customers and suppliers.

Alki and Patrick Jouin combine fine craftsmanship and industrial techniques

with no sharp angles or junctions, the chair expresses seamless, flowing lines and forms

‘Orria’ prototypes in Alki’s workshop

‘Orria’ expresses a 100% wooden structure and joinery, crafted from oak and bentwood

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from left to right: Eñaut Jolimon de Haraneder - Alki CEO Patrick Jouin - Designer

From left to right: Eñaut Jolimon de Haraneder - Alki CEO Hervé Lemoine - President of Mobilier national Laurence Engel - President of Bibliothèque nationale de France Patrick Jouin - Designer

 

Orria prototype's oak structure

 

project info:

name: Orria Chair
designer: Patrick Jouin

manufacturer: Alki | workshop: Mito

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edited by: ravail khan | designboom