Jean Nouvel designs pared-back furniture for Coalesse that has "nothing to do with minimalism"

American furniture brand Coalesse has unveiled a sculptural seating collection by architect Jean Nouvel, with curved forms that envelop the sitter and allow for versatile configurations within a space.

The Jean Nouvel Seating Collection, which was unveiled at a satellite event during the ICFF furniture fair in New York, comprises a fully upholstered lounge chair, sofa, ottoman and a tete-a-tete bench.

Natural elements such as shifting sand dunes and rocks in a riverbed provided inspiration for the abstract shapes, which help to support the sitter in a variety of positions.

"The key word in my work is elementary," said Nouvel. "The elementary quality I seek has nothing to do with minimalism or brutalism: it involves ambiguity and complexity."

"The simpler an object looks, the more obvious or familiar, the harder it is to make, the more emotion it offers and the better it stands the test of time."

The Pritzker Prize-winning architect's own building designs also informed the complex, dynamic forms of the pieces, which required complex engineering and pattern design to manufacture and upholster.

"This work is extremely pure, extremely enduring," Nouvel added. "For me, an object is a success if it feels familiar to me the moment it comes off the factory floor. You should be asking yourself why you didn't think of it earlier."

The pieces can be used together in contract settings to facilitate collaborative work and conversation between colleagues, as well as offering a relaxing breakout space.

According to Coalesse, the project demonstrates Ateliers Jean Nouvel's ability to design timeless solutions that complement their context.

"This collection sits at the intersection of artistry and form," said Meghan Dean, general manager of design brands and partners at Coalesse's parent organisation Steelcase.

"Shapes seem irregular, but they're far from formless. It takes seating to the next level, making it supremely comfortable and highly functional at the same time."

Coalesse specialises in residentially-inspired contract furniture, with previous collaborations including a carbon-fibre chair by Michael Young that weighs just 2.2 kilograms.

Jean Nouvel founded his eponymous studio in 1994, having become known over the previous two decades for his work as an architect, curator and founder of France's first labour union for architects.

He won the Pritzker Prize for architecture in 2008 and heads a team of more than 130 staff from his Paris atelier. The firm recently completed a plant-covered tower for a hotel in São Paulo, as well as a pair of leaning skyscrapers in Paris.

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