TÅRN - a Knippelsbro guide

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For the reopening of the bridge tower, the team behind the restoration work have produced a combined guide and magazine. Narrower pages attached to the cover have a good selection of historic drawings, old photographs and information about the building of the bridge and its operation.

Inside is like a good art magazine with a selection of newspaper cuttings about the bridge and some interesting photographs of odd objects found as work on the restoration progressed but there is also a review of the art installation Between the Towers by Randi Jørgensen and Katrine Malinivsky at Arken; what appears to be a declaration of love for the Eiffel Tower; an essay about the symbolism of towers through time and much more.

Nytt Rom 58

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This is subtitled the 'påyfyll issue ved andre øyekast' which seems to translate as the refill issue at second sight … so here I take refill as referring to taking the top up of coffee and giving yourself time to think.

Certainly the magazine is packed with Inspiration and ideas … so for some the really must have … although for me it means that I really must go and look or I really should find out more.

There are book reviews here but more and more traditional publishing seems to be about following on behind the magazines and the on-line sites, to they do the retrospective - here a book on Modernist architecture - or there are more general compilations to inspire you so here The New Old House, about combining historic and modern architecture, and Creative Living Country.

In Nytt Rom, the product reviews are often presented in groups of three to a page … so in this issue the interesting combination of a desk tidy or small tool carrier from Eva Solo, a basket from Lena Bjerre and Cloth - a jug in 3D printed porcelain designed by Luca Nichetto for OTHR. The link here being I guess containers.

Or there are three interesting upholstered shell-shaped chairs - the You Lounge - also designed by Luca Nichetto - Lune by Jamie Hayon from Fritz Hansen and Asko by Patrick Norguet from Erik Jørgensen … so here you can do an important compare and contrast.

The magazine also does a really good job of putting together in one issue profiles that are linked so in this issue there are longer pieces on Ariake - a partnership of two furniture companies from Morodomi in the Saga prefecture in Japan - and makers of more traditional furniture at the Miyazaki Chair Factory.

There are good profiles of ….

The architects and furniture designers Björn Förstberg and Mikael Ling who trained in Lund and are now based in Malmö with photographs of their 'House for Mother' - a series of simple linked blocks with pitched roofs and walls covered in finely ribbed corrugated aluminium and much of the interior faced with plywood. A really interesting first house from the partnership.

And a profile of the industrial designer Jonas Stokke and his amazing Tjøme Chair with the prototypes made by boat builders from Risør.

There is the home of the young Lithuanian architect Saulius Bulavas who trained at the School of Architecture in Oslo - an apartment that has a raw and industrial feel - and a piece on the home of the interior designer Cecilie Holmboe - part of an ongoing series that looks at how designers and architects themselves live - but the photographs are refreshingly straightforward in their presentation so the interiors are tidy but not over styled for the photo shoot.

One review about the Primo Chair, designed by Konstantin Grcics for Mattiazzi  was interesting because of recent posts on this site . This is another of the 'basic' chairs.

There is so much more in the issue but it also has one aspirational article - so aspirational as in we can all dream - about an Airstream touring caravan with the interior designed by Søren Rose Studio that was photographed touring the highways or rather the back roads of Upstate New York.

Finnish design day at Design Werck

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Ulla Koskinen, Johanna Vurio and Mads Arlien-Søborg lead the discussion

On the 2nd June there was a major event where the companies and designers from Finland who have been showing in the gallery were at Design Werck to talk about their designs and about the work produced by their companies.

There was a good general discussion about Nordic design that was led by Mads Arlien-Søborg - the design expert from DR TV in Copenhagen - with Johanna Vurio, CEO of the furniture company Nikari Oy, and Ulla Koskinen, editor for the design magazine ASUN - I Live.

People introduced themselves and talked briefly about the work produced by their companies and the strong common theme that emerged was that each had a distinct and unique and interesting story to tell about how their companies had been established but, and much more important, what came across in simply through talking about this, was their passion and commitment to good design.

This should not be surprising but it was obvious, as so often, that it is this background story that is not just a 'unique selling point' but is the best way to help potential customers understand the product … the way for the designer or manufacture to get across, in an interesting way, why the design is important and can be half the battle to justify the price - important in a competitive market - and is also the best starting point to explain the merits of the work … to explain how a piece works or explain why one material rather than another was chosen or why something was made in a specific way.

Of course a customer can be overloaded with information but equally many of the important factors about a product might not be immediately obvious when it is seen in a crowded shop display. It is important to get the balance right and important to include at least some of this back story on packaging.

The discussion moved on to the idea of marketing Scandinavian design generally as a way of pooling resources but also as a way of strengthening the image of the region for it's design.

The well-attended discussion session was followed by food from Finland and that was a fantastic opportunity to chat with the designers from Finland and with the teams from the different companies.

Design Werck, Krudløbsvej 12, Copenhagen 

 

Nytt Rom 57

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The edition for April and May. 

The usual good mix of reviews of new products and new design publications and exhibitions including the exhibition on the work of Hiroshi Sambuichi at the Danish Architecture Centre.

There are interesting photo articles on the homes of staff from the team at Menu - the Brand and Design Director Joachim Kornbek and the PR Manager Line Borella who both have homes in Nørrebro - along with the homes of the architect Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen and the apartment of the designer Søren Rose in New York … all classic interiors in the Danish style that make the most of open and uncluttered space with well-placed mix of furniture … both classic modern pieces but also the best of current products.

Also a profile of the work of the photographer Lina Kayser.

 

Nytt Rom 55

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The latest edition of Nytt Rom is out now with the usual good mixture of short notices about new products, current exhibitions, short book reviews and so on and slightly longer pieces about designers or architecture. This month there is a piece on the Urban Rigger, a floating construction from Bjarke Ingels, and several longer pieces with eight-page spreads on specific houses, including two in Copenhagen and two in Oslo … one with a stunning location on a steep wooded slope on the island of Ulvøya just south of the city. 

This is not just about looking at what seems like day dreaming about unattainable design because there is a useful roundup from visits to a couple design stores - i butikkene - that just focuses on a few items “i hyller og skap” - on shelves or in cabinets - so what the magazine editor admits is a completely subjective choice including pieces from Hay and Frama seen in an Oslo store and a Tivoli Chair by the Finnish designer Mikko Laakkonen in Danske in Istedgade in Copenhagen. And that’s fine … it strikes me as being as close as any design magazine gets to the way most people shop … seeing something that just stands out and you really like and then wondering, again in the words of the magazine, if it is a timeless investment or maybe just something you can tell yourself you need.