STRAIGHTFORWARD - NEW FINNISH DESIGN

A selection of press coverage

essi.rautiola — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 20:23:15 +0000

Aalto University

essi.rautiola — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:52:44 +0000

Aalto University is a newly created university combining the long-running history and knowledge of three renowned Finnish universities: Helsinki School of Economics (founded in 1911), University of Art and Design Helsinki (founded in 1871) and Helsinki University of Technology (founded in 1849). It is strongly future-oriented while, at the same time, building on the combined 300-year-legacy of three highly regarded universities. It educates responsible and independent experts to have a comprehensive understanding and expertise as vanguards of the society. It strives to be one of the leading institutions in research and education in its own specialized disciplines: technology, business and industrial design & art. The fusion of three leading universities opens up new possibilities for pioneering and strong multi-disciplinary education, top-quality interdisciplinary research, surpassing traditional boundaries and renewal of the field. Aalto University is known for its innovative approach in meeting significant national and international challenges. Strong financial base and professional management enable sustained academic and creative work.

http://www.aalto.fi

Anne Kyyrö Quinn

admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:33:15 +0000

Textile designer Anne Kyyrö Quinn has been based in London since 1986 and set up her own design studio in 1999. Her thesis at the London Metropolitan University sparked her ongoing interest in felt as a material. She was one of the first designers to rediscover felt and update it for the twenty-first century. Kyyrö Quinn broke fresh ground when she used the material to pioneer a striking range of three-dimensional textiles. Eschewing traditional ornamentation, her signature style peels away surface embellishment to expose the core substance and structure that such robust materials can have. Collaboration with architects and interior designers has brought her wall textiles in to the public eye. Working on an architectural scale enables her to take natural fabrics in new directions. Anne Kyyrö Quinn’s clients include commercial enterprises as well as private customers. Her wall installations have been commissioned by a number of internationally known companies such as Virgin Atlantic, Warner Bros., Nokia, Marriott Hotels, BBC, DeBeers Diamonds, HSBC, The Lawn Tennis Association and W Hotels. Amongst her recent projects are the Boa Restaurant in Los Angeles and the newly opened Wit Design Hotel in Chicago. Anne Kyyrö Quinn has won numerous design awards. In December 2009, her acoustic wall panel Scallop won the prestigious international Good Design Award in the textiles category. Leaf acoustic panel was granted the same award in 2007 and Rosette acoustic panel in 2008. In addition to wall panels, Kyyrö Quinn has used felt to design blinds, lighting and cushions and to upholster furniture. Apart from felt, she has worked with linen and leather.

Scallop, Leaf & Laine

STRAIGHTFORWARD presents a decorative acoustic wall installation combining several of Anne Kyyrö Quinn’s textile structures. The Scallop, Laine and Leaf patterns will undulate in and out of the wall bringing color, texture, softness and a sense of movement to the surrounding space. The play of light on the surface of the textiles creates interesting optical illusions. Anne Kyyrö Quinn’s acoustic wall panels are striking, architectural interior elements with a vivid surface that really catches your eye and invites you to touch it. The strong, three-dimensional structure produces an original, sleek silhouette, which is a work of art in itself. In Anne Kyyrö Quinn’s design, classical materials are given a modern interpretation based on the clean-lined Scandinavian formal idiom. The wall panels are created using 100% sustainable wool felt making them an ecologically sound material choice. The panels also feature superb acoustic properties based on the use of the wool felt combined with Kyyrö Quinn’s signature three-dimensional surface structure. Her acoustic textile panels have been certified by sound testing laboratories achieving an international performance standard confirming the panels work to effectively reduce reflective sound levels. The wall coverings are set to target the sound requirements of public buildings were noise control and reduction are a big issue. Custom-made from industrial felt, the wall panels are cut, sewn and finished by hand at her London studio.

www.annekyyroquinn.com

Harri Koskinen

magdalena — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:48:42 +0000

Since its founding in 1978, professional audio monitoring has been the core of Genelec’s business. Their commitment to research and development has established Genelec as the industry leader in active monitors. Over 30 years later their monitoring products remain true to the original philosophy, offering reliability, neutral sound reproduction regardless of size, as well as the ability to adapt frequency response to the listening environment. During the past decade their business has expanded beyond the professional monitoring segment to selected consumer markets and Genelec products are today found in an increasing number of home theaters and residential systems. Harri Koskinen has been involved in the industrial design of the Genelec 6000 and 8000 Series loudspeakers as well as the 5040A subwoofer. He is one of the most internationally acclaimed Finnish designers today. On top of Genelec his clientele includes Arabia, Artek, Cassina, Design House Stockholm, Finlandia Vodka Worldwide, Iittala, Issey Miyake, Montina, Muji, Panasonic, Seiko Instruments, Swarovski, Venini and Woodnotes. Koskinen’s uncompromised bold design style has gained international renown since the early days of his career. Practicality and strict aesthetics are his trademarks. One of his best-known works is Block Lamp, launched in 1998. Manufactured by Design House Stockholm, the lamp is included in the MoMA collection. Founded in 2000, Koskinen’s design agency Friends of Industry is involved in product, concept and exhibition design. In 2009, Koskinen launched his first namesake collection, Harri Koskinen Works. His designs have been on display in both solo and group exhibitions around the world. The latest of the numerous awards received by Koskinen was the Swedish Torsten and Wanja Söderberg Prize, granted to him in 2009. In 2007, he was awarded the Pro Finlandia medal by the President of Finland. By international standards, Koskinen’s most esteemed award is Compasso d’Oro, which he received for his Muu chair designed for Montina in 2004.

8260A

Genelec’s 8000 Series contains active monitors suitable for both home and professional users. The new 8260A 3-way DSP system is a masterpiece in electro-acoustic design. It features major advances in audio driver technology integrated to a sophisticated enclosure design. Genelec Minimum Diffraction Coaxial Mid/High driver technology takes a big step in perfecting audio quality in professional active studio monitors by providing more accurate imaging and improved sound quality both on and off the acoustical axis. The extremely smooth frequency response leads to outstanding clarity and definition of the inner details of the music. 8260A combines, for the first time, a coaxial driver with a modern waveguide technology, ensuring drivers to couple coherently over their full operating bandwidth, as well as creating coincident mid-frequency/high frequency point source. 8260A is housed in a die-cast aluminum Minimum Diffraction Enclosure™ with acoustically optimized rounded edges to prevent diffractions and yielding superb sound stage imaging. The robust enclosure is completely immune to vibrations. Each 8260A also comes with an Isolation Positioner/Decoupler™, which eliminates coloration of the sound by decoupling the monitor from its mounting surface, and includes integrated rear support points for various floor and wall stands. The 8260A Tri-Amplified DSP Monitoring System can be used together with other 8200 Series DSP monitors and 7200 Series subwoofers in the same setup. The 8260A monitor was selected by the editors of Mix Magazine as one of the Top-20 hits of the AES 2009 show.

www.harrikoskinen.com

www.genelec.com

The Tapiovaara Family

magdalena — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:43:53 +0000

Ilmari Tapiovaara (1914-1999) was one of the greatest interior architects and designers of his era. With the mind of an explorer and soul of a craftsman, he was always seeking for new solutions to improve everyday objects. During his long career Tapiovaara created dozens of iconic objects loved by the public. Today a collection of his designs called Tapiovaara Family is being manufactured by Aero Design Furniture Ltd. in order to keep the essential part of Ilmari Tapiovaara’s timeless heritage alive. The ownership of Tapiovaara Ltd originally founded by Ilmari Tapiovaara himself together with the full production rights of his designs were transferred to the hands of Aero Design Furniture Ltd. in 2009. During the following years the aim is to bring into production some more classics that are still missing from the collection.

KIKI, MADEMOISELLE, PIRKKA AND TRIENNA

Every Tapiovaara product is designed with attention to detail, produced locally in small manufacturing locations in Finland and made of mainly Finnish sustainable materials. However, the ultimate test of sustainable and long lasting design is the physical endurance in daily use and the timeless appearance. The designs of Ilmari Tapiovaara have proven their quality over time by remaining part of the daily lives of the Finns as interesting, relevant, functional and aesthetic pieces of furniture for the past 70 years. The versatile Pirkka family, which alludes to the forms of Finnish rustic furniture, is one of the most popular Finnish furniture series and has obtained a cult status even abroad. Of the items in use at the STRAIGHTFORWARD lounge, the Trienna coffee table was designed in 1954, the Pirkka table, bench, low stool and bar stool in 1955, the Mademoiselle rocking chair in 1956, and the Kiki sofa in 1959.

www.ilmaritapiovaara.fi

Selki-asema

magdalena — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:21:24 +0000

The old Selki railway station lies in southern Finland, 40 km from the capital city Helsinki on the Hanko-Hyvinkää railway line. The railway was built in 1873 by a company financed by St. Petersburg businessmen. The station itself was built at the end of the 1890’s. The Selki station was a busy loading place for lumber. It had a permanent attendant until the 1950’s and after that was operated on a part-time basis by the agent of the neighboring station of Otalampi. Passenger traffic between Karjaa and Hyvinkää ceased in 1983, and in 2001 Jukka Merta purchased the Selki station buildings from the state. After a thorough renovation project the station is now home to a design manufacturing company called Selki-asema (asema is Finnish for station). Selki-asema’s designers include Mari Relander and Anna-Katriina Tilli, Klaus Aalto, Jari-Petri Voutilainen, Mikko Laakkonen, and Elina Järvinen. Their product range includes furniture, lamps, accessories, and even cook ware – everything you might need in your house. Selki-asema also closely collaborates with several well-known Finnish designers and design companies in prototype production and through subcontracting.

Exhibition Structures

Selki asema is responsible for manufacturing the furniture used in STRAIGHTFORWARD. The exhibition furniture is designed by interior architect Teemu Oksanen who is also one of the two curators of the event. The main material used is the Effex board by Stora Enso Timber.

www.selki-asema.fi

Klaus Aalto

admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 09:26:42 +0000

The old Selki railway station in Southern Finland is home to a small design manufacturing company called Selki-asema (asema is Finnish for station) run by Jukka Merta. Selki-asema’s designers include Mari Relander and Anna-Katriina Tilli, Klaus Aalto, Jari-Petri Voutilainen, Mikko Laakkonen, and Elina Järvinen. Their product range includes furniture, lamps, accessories, and even cook ware – everything you might need in your house. The designer of Naulikko coat rack, Klaus Aalto is based in Helsinki where he has had his own studio since 2002. Klaus Aalto received multiple prizes for his diploma work from the University of Art and Design in 2007. His work has been widely published and is included e.g. in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in Quebec. Klaus currently works together with his wife, designer Elina Aalto under the name Aalto+Aalto. They met while studying at the University of Art and Design Helsinki in 1997. They have been working both together and separately in design projects since 2000 and decided to start a joint design studio Aalto+Aalto in 2010. The studio focuses mainly on product design. Aalto+Aalto enjoy working on projects that functionally, esthetically as well as emotionally bring something new to our material world. Their work often brings a new point of view to everyday objects.

NAULIKKO

Naulikko is a coat rack attached to the wall where order meets esthetics in a fun way. It was inspired by the chaos of regular coat racks where the coats are piled up on top of each other in one big mess. Naulikko has separate fixed coat hangers for each piece of garment, which can be neatly browsed to find the right one. It also looks nice. The materials used are powder coated steel and painted wooden knobs. Naulikko is manufactured by Selki-Asema.

www.selki-asema.fi

Alessi

admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 09:20:06 +0000

HARRI KOSKINEN AND KRISTIINA LASSUS

Alessi is one of the family-run “Italian Design Factories”. The Alessi family has been firmly established on Lake Orta for centuries. A long-standing tradition in wood and metal handicraft has survived up to this day in this narrow valley in the Italian Alps. Alessi products are still today considered as being handicraft items made with the aid of machines, meaning that, even though the company relies on contemporary, industrial technology and processing equipment, at depth their practice is rooted in handicraft culture. The company presently offers the entire product range under three brands: Officina Alessi, A di Alessi, and Alessi. They do not employ in-house designers, but work with independent talents instead. Their current catalog of more than 3,000 items in metal, plastics, wood, crystal, porcelain, and including also appliances and consumer electronics, is the result of Alessi’s collaboration with over 500 designers from all over the world.

Of the two Alessi designers with projects on show in STRAIGHTFORWARD Harri Koskinen established his Helsinki-based design studio, Friends of Industry in 1998. In his work Koskinen focuses mainly on product design for several international clients. However, his studio also offers concept design and exhibition architecture. Kristiina Lassus has worked as an interior architect, designer and design manager in Helsinki, Brisbane and Milan. She has lived in Italy since 1997, worked as design manager for Alessi until 2004 and now runs her own design studio Studio Kristiina Lassus in Milan.

123DL, FAT TRAY AND ADAGIO

123dl is a set of three different sized glasses intended for several purposes. Harri Koskinen’s idea when designing the glasses was to create a set that could satisfy numerous needs throughout the day: an espresso, a cappuccino, a cup of tea, or a glass of wine or water. Maybe even a snack, using the small glass as a peanut bowl. The three glasses also function as measuring cups for volumes of 1, 2 and 3 dl.

The voracious bamboo tray is called “Fat” because it has already “swallowed” inside itself everything one needs for setting a table, while on top, fresh food, beverages or pastries are ready to be served during a business meeting, an afternoon tea, a picnic in the park or even in the office. It’s the first combined tray/container produced by Alessi and their only wooden tray currently in production.

Adagio or A405 is a thermo-insulated jug with a double-walled body and lid in stainless steel. The project was developed by Kristiina Lassus as a continuation for her A401 tea and coffee set designed in 2008. It meets all the functional requirements of the hotel industry, but thanks to its soft and plumb shape it is also a good addition to one’s own breakfast table. The jug is available in 60 cl and 100 cl sizes.

www.alessi.com

www.harrikoskinen.com

www.kristiinalassus.com

Jukka Korpihete

admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 09:02:28 +0000

As a designer Jukka Korpihete is specialized in lighting design. He works widely in the lighting field under the company name Korpihete Ltd. His projects vary from luminaire design to art installations, individual homes and to cityscape lighting plans. In addition to lighting design Korpihete works for furniture- and silverware manufacturers. Most of the projects though are public spaces such as churches, hotels, offices, facades and open public areas. He also works with industrial design projects with various international customers. Jukka Korpihete’s clients include e.g. Espoo Parish, City of Jyväskylä, and companies such as Kone, Lundia, Woodnotes, Schiedel, Kultakeskus, and Vivero. Jukka also has his own small-scale production luminaire collection Byrolights. These luminaries can be rightly considered light art pieces. Most of them play with the shapes of light and shadows. Jukka Korpihete has had numerous private exhibitions in museums and design centers. In 2006 he was awarded the Young Designer of the Year prize together with Mikko Paakkanen and in 2007 he was awarded with the Avotakka design price. In 2010 he received the Good Design Award for his lighting designs for Lundia awarded by Chicago Athenaeum.

HUT

Hut provides a high contrast of light and shade. It is intended for use in both residential and public spaces. It is manufactured by the Finnish company Woodnotes which concentrates on products and concepts inspired by paper yarn. The Hut light is fixed to the ceiling and has a built in transformer. It consists of a flat painted aluminum frame with wire ropes and a shade made of either black or white Woodnotes Open Sky paper yarn cotton fabric. The strong and durable paper yarn used in the shade is biodegradable, and the white paper is produced without chlorine gas. Due to the density of the fibers, paper yarn collects neither dust nor dirt. The fixtures are adaptable to the given space thanks to the adjustable height. The lighting fixture also makes a strong statement in the space. The two standard sizes available are 850×1020x80 mm and 1020×1420x10 mm.

www.korpihete.com

www.woodnotes.fi

Tuula Pöyhönen

admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 08:31:43 +0000

For Tuula Pöyhönen, work and family life are indistinguishable: her home serves as her studio and even as her shop. Pöyhönen’s varied history as a designer has included young fashion and jeans design, furniture and textile home collections, uniforms, styling and writing, wearability accessories, and visual merchandise for companies in Finland and abroad: M.A.S.I Lee Cooper, Stockmann department store, L-Fashion Group Luhta Home, Rukka, Skanno, Nokia, Image Publishing, ELLE Deco Japan, Kwintet Hejco, Taivas, Sek&Grey, and Studio Suppanen. The ONNI collection represents one culmination of this deep and broad experience, as the expression of a vision of a private fashion collection.

ONNI

The ONNI spring/summer collection plays with the idea of Finnish classics such as Marimekko stripes, traditional work aprons and wooden clogs. The collection explores contemporary new twists: turns stripes into diagonals, reformulates use, and distorts shape. The materials are natural, mainly cotton and wood, and all designs are made or sub-produced in Finland.