Hasta La Ideas

A multi-disciplinary design studio’s fringe experiments combine science with art at Stockholm Design Week 2012

Note Design Studio quietly sidled into the public eye last year with its exhibition Marginal Notes, as part of Stockholm Design Week. Alexis Holmqvist, Susanna Wåhlin, Johannes Carlström, Kristoffer Fagerström and Cristiano Pigazzini run the multi-disciplinary studio, which has since built up a prolific base of collaborations with companies across Sweden and beyond, not to mention fresh interior architecture and installations like the recent Below the Snow at the Formex design fair.

This year, the studio revisited the original Marginal Notes concept to show another exhibition of experimental prototypes lifted from the margins of their notebooks. “We’re looking for those unique sketches which pop out when you look at them again, the ones you just need to realize,” says Fagerström. A recurring theme seemed to be emerging from the team’s prep-work, that of Base Camp; “Simplistic materials and shapes of scientific field exploration tools; adapted to wear and tear,” he adds.

As with its previous 2011 exhibition, the group set to taking the 2D sketches into 3D, with a diverse set of results that mix color, material and form in a light airy expression that has become the firm’s signature. Marginal Notes gave Note a chance to not only show conceptual work but also its more recent collaborations like the simple overhead lighting for Zero, a mobile project screen for Zilenzio and a group of light ash wood structures, dressed in fabrics from Afroart.

However, Note stands out mostly for its independent projects like Tuc, a group of three rotund stools which get their form from the Steve Zissou-style beanie hat and its attention-grabbing red color. The edges of the cushion are folded up to reveal an intricate lattice of metal beneath.

The piece Sifter is a scaled-down take on an excavation machine from a building site, transformed into a coat hanger with a net below to catch items that may drop from your pockets. Peep brings light into typically dark bulky storage furniture, using the same mesh as Mosquito, a selection of screens that can be used as backdrops or temporary feature walls. The Catch is a fun ceiling light that can be moved around its central pivot to resemble a firefly caught in a butterfly net.

“To fell a tree, and to cut it up into useful pieces is a thing of pride for a lumberjack or a settler building their first cabin,” says Fagerström, explaining the Settler seat. “The iconic shape of a log on a sawbuck inspired these benches, since a dead tree in the forest is really the best place for a short rest.”

Marginal Notes 2012

8-10 February 2012

Showroom Lindehöf,

Hornsgatan 29, Stockholm

Architects Codesign have converted a Stockholm warehouse into a school.

Clusters of recycled-glass classrooms are arranged inside the former furniture storage facility, filled with colourful chairs and carpets.

Informal study areas line the corridors outside classrooms.

Weighted hatches lift up to reveal a cafe counter at one end of the building, beside a line of black tables and yellow lampshades.

Other interesting interiors in Stockholm include offices for Skype and a hotel with layered fabric lamps – see all our stories about Stockholm here.

Photography is by Brendan Austin.

The following information is from Codesign:

Stadsmissionen School

To remodel worn school premises, on a tight budget and a tight time schedule, is nothing new. Doing it together with a client such as Stockholms Stadsmission (a nonprofit organization), with their progressive vision, is a challenge which can only be loved.

The aim was to create an attractive, dynamic environment where everyone is proud to spend their time.

The brief was to transform a 1000 m2 worn industrial shed, formerly used as a secondhand cloths and furniture store, into a functional learning environment in addition to increasing the capacity of the school with an increasing number of students.

A brief was worked out together with the client, where secondary spaces such as entrance, staircases and corridors were to be considered to be the primary spaces.

The idea was to transform under-used spaces into functional spaces for a multitude of purposes.

These secondary spaces now contain a new hub consisting of a centrally located cafe, in addition to informal study areas and intimate seating areas clustered between the classrooms and rooms for group studies.

Clearly defined pods, containing classrooms, have been added within the original industrial shed.

The public flow takes place between the facade and the pods, as opposed to the traditional central spinal corridor with the classrooms butted against the facade.

The space for communication thus becomes light and airy, and spaces for incidental meetings are created, such as the café, study areas etc. The classrooms are used for teaching or group studies.

The industrial character has been retained to the greatest extent. This is juxtaposed by the pods which have been given colourful interiors which seep out into the public spaces through the glass skin of the pods and when the doors o f the pods are left open.

As the project only has a limited life span (the building will be demolished in a few years time) it was crucial to use recyclable materials where possible.

The glass skin of the pods, consists of a U-profile glassing system of cast glass, which is already recycled and can be recycled again.

The vinyl flooring can be recycled and the MDF cladding of the pods, can be dismounted and moved.

The furniture is likely to outlive the building and will thus follow the school to their new premises, yet unknown.

The entire project has been a close cooperation with the client, from first initial meeting to beyond completion, including follow-up and evaluation on completed project.

Codesign has been responsible for a large portion of the procurement and the project management of the building project, as well as the complete furnishing and fitting of the interior design. The result is a project finished on time – and under budget! Obviously, this was only achievable due to close and excellent cooperation with the Stadsmissionen managers and staff plus the builders.

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Dinahosting Offices by O Antídoto	Goldberger by Tervhivatal	MiNO by Antonio Ravalli Architetti

Cycle safely with tiny removable lights from a new Stockholm design studio

Copenhagen may have nearly a half million commuters cycle through each day, but there are many other pockets of Scandinavia where bicycles are popular. In Stockholm, riding without a bell or horn is subject to fines—tickets for riding without brakes are even higher and when winter hits, police target cyclists riding without lights. Fortunately, where there are bikes, there are those who love them and who create great, simple items for other like-minded cyclists.

Enter Bookman, an up-and-coming design studio of bike-lovers, inspired by personal experiences and astute observation. “Biking is the number one way for Swedish students to get around, but the majority of them are riding in the dark for half of the year,” explains founders Victor Kabo, David Axelsson and Fredrik Lindström. Their solution is an affordable, stylish light that’s easily removed so it won’t get pinched by light-fingered passersby.

Recently-released, the Bookman Light has already been picked up by a number of retailers thanks to its super-simple closure system, durable design and enticing array of colors. A minimal re-design of an old Swedish bicycle lighting system, the simple block shape (which always works well in simple primary colors) has a grooved underside so it fits snugly on a seatpost or handlebar with an elastic cord and rubber button. Like Knog lights, the long-lasting LED bulb runs on a small, replaceable battery, allowing you to easily detach and slip the whole light into your pocket.

The lights sell online from Bookman, Colette and The Standard Shop for around $25.

Also on Cool Hunting: Spring/Summer Bicycle Accessories

Artist James Turrell’s mind-bending experience of light, sound and space in Järna, Sweden

The average human takes many things for granted, but in the eyes of American artist James Turrell the light and color around us is top of the list.
For the past 30 years the pioneering artist has been creating breathtaking installations based around the simplistically multifaceted mediums of light, color and space. In fact, Turrell can lay claim to owning the world’s largest piece of art, the Roden Crater, which affords the viewer access to celestial phenomena at a location just outside of Flagstaff, Arizona.

While the crater is still very much a work in progress, a new exhibition entitled “See! Colour!” just opened in the unlikely location of Järna, a small commune just outside Stockholm which has played a huge part in the Swedish anthroposophical movement over the years.

The show features a host of Turrell’s site-specific installations—all of which are programmed according to their locations in the world and proximity to the atmosphere, light and climate. Each of the five works is undeniable proof not only of Turrell’s artistic acumen but of the potential of color and light to inform and baffle the mind.

“Ganzfeld“, treats the viewer to an enormous room which cycles between the red and blue portions of the color spectrum (according to Turrell’s technician these color groups are chosen for their ability to overload the retina quickly). It takes seconds for the dimensions of the space to vanish while the mind attempts to locate corners, walls and angles, an effect that’s both disconcerting and exhilarating at the same time.

From Ganzfeld, a short walk leads visitors to the gentle hues of Wedgewood, which acts like a tranquilizer to the overloaded brain, structuring the exhibition cleverly with its change of pace.

Many of the works at Järna are not only site but time specific. Skyspace, a work which perhaps epitomizes Turrell’s work, is best viewed a short time before the sun rises and sets. Inside a tall cylindrical room with a skylight-like hole cut into the center of the roof a series of lights are aligned in the direction of the natural light pouring in. The result is a disorientating change of color in the natural light, and a slice of the atmosphere which seems almost tangible. “Light is all around us, it’s what feeds out bodies, while we describe emotions, art and life through the language of light and color,” explains Turrell.

Discussing what many consider to be his most powerful piece, Bindu Shards, Turrell told us that, thanks to his time as a pilot, “My work has always been informed with an exploration of a landscape without horizons, like a whiteout, the rapture of the deep. I try to create a horizon-less, gravity-less space.”

Bindu Shards is a 4.2-meter sphere in which the viewer is inserted, lying on their back, wearing headphones and carrying a panic button. Choosing from hard or soft, they are taken on an indescribable 15 minute journey that is likely to linger in the mind for weeks following.

A small sign plays in the headphones as a veritable light show plays out, triggering what Turrell calls “Behind the Eye Seeing,” in which you feel as if your entire field of vision is extended through to 360 degrees. Color, light and the audible sign take the mind to a place where breaks of solid color create the sensation of flying and physical release. The fact that you are enclosed, alone in the sphere also allows you to actually feel the different temperatures from the wavelengths of each respective color.

While there is a large number of installations on site at Järna, this is seemingly only a small slice of the potential color holds, and with every passing technological advancement, Turrell’s pieces are destined to become even more moving and pioneering.

“See! Colour!” is a stirring odyssey of color and light which has to be seen to be truly believed. The exhibition is open through 4 October 2011. All images by Florian Holzherr, see more in the gallery.

Swedish design duo Elding Oscarson have completed this office for design consultants No Picnic in Stockholm, divided in two by a reflective aluminium wall. 

Previously a stable and troop hall, the office has meeting areas concealed behing the mirrored divider.

The large windows to the meeting room are set flush with the metal cladding.

A spiral staircase at the far end of the office leads to the existing mezzanine.

The office also includes a workshop, showroom, project rooms and customer area.

Dezeen’s top ten: mirrors »
More offices on Dezeen »
More projects by Elding Oscarson on Dezeen »

Photographs are by Åke E:son Lindman.

The following is from the architects:

No Picnic by Elding Oscarson

No Picnic is one of the world’s largest design consultants, covering industrial design, product design, and packaging design; as well as art direction, consumer insight, and architecture. We could hardly imagine a better oriented client, and expected nothing less than an ambitious, demanding, and fun project. They wanted large, open office spaces, a prototype workshop, a prototype showroom, several project rooms, and a striking customer area, distinctly separated from the other spaces in order to maintain secrecy.

For this, the client had found a group of 19th Century buildings in central Stockholm, mainly consisting of two volumes, one originally an exercise hall for troops, and the other once a stable for police horses. They had been converted into showrooms in the 1980’s, and were in a sad state. These buildings currently enjoy the highest level of historical protection. Conversion had to be sensitive, and we have evaluated every step with an antiquarian, literally down to each new screw hole.

We wanted to get rid of all added layers down to the origin. In the old stable we were able to peel the room naked, and just add a custom designed acoustical treatment along the walls, but in the exercise hall, economy and function demanded that a mezzanine constructed there in the 1980’s, was kept. The mezzanine cut the hall lengthwise, and crippled the experience of the space in an unfortunate way. Its edge coincided with the center of the hall, so we opted for the industrial designer’s own method – the way arbitrary but symmetric shapes can be sculpted as half models onto a mirror, we could restore the impression of the entire exercise hall by constructing a delicate aluminum wall along its central axis.

The meeting rooms inside this metal membrane, has large window panes towards the hall. The flat reflection of the glass appearing flush with the distorting metal surface, makes the glass seem like a mirror while the metal appears transparent; the wall is there, yet it disappears. It is bold, kaleidoscopic and delusive with its trompe l’oeil effects. At the same time it takes a step back for the main act: the light and space of the exercise hall, and the old building’s straightforward display of material, construction, imperfections, and time that has passed.

Project Name: No Picnic
Architect: Elding Oscarson
Client: No Picnic AB
Location: Storgatan 23 C, Stockholm
Gross Area: 1100 sqm
Year of Construction: 2010-11

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ANZAS Dance Studio by Tsutsumi and Associates	Bridal Magic by Process5 Design	NE by Teruhiro Yanagihara