Born in Istanbul in 1975, Alper Böler studied industrial design at Marmara University. In 2000, following stints at several furniture and interior design companies, Böler co-founded ünal&böler studio, earning praise both at home and abroad: Wallpaper magazine included the studio’s Petek bookshelf—which later won the Gioia Casa Best 100 design award—in its Global Edit exhibition. Vienna’s MAK Museum of Applied & Contemporary Arts honored the studio’s innovative take on the modular library, the Salkim “bookhanger”, and the 2009 IF Design Award went to the minimal but multitasking Sema café table. Böler’s work has been published internationally in Wallpaper, Abitare, Interni, I.D., Frame and Surface magazines, as well as in books surveying the best of international design.

 

In 2008, the interiors, furniture and product designer struck out on his own. The launch of his eponymous studio and a debut collection entitled Housework: Design Domesticated, demonstrated Böler’s interest in giving the most efficient and original forms to familiar objects while assigning them multiple functions, and generating novelty and playfulness through common sense problem-solving. Over time, in a city rich with skilled craft and tradesmen, his approach to design and fabrication has become collaborative, resourceful and hands-on, and his thinking about aesthetics, both pragmatic and unconventional.

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Now based outside San Francisco, Böler continues to focus on designing, consulting and overseeing the build-out of a wide range of work. His portfolio includes brand-wide store concepts for linens labels Burgundy and Penelope, including signature interactive windows; kinetic storefront installations for the Boyner department stores; creative direction, spatial identity solutions and trade fair booths for textile manufacturer Penche; residential interiors and custom furnishings, including a video-gaming room for pioneering real estate developer, Nef; and fantasy interiors for a dinosaur theme park, among others.