Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair: Sustainability Takes Precedence
Sustainability has been on everyone's lips for years, but now we're seeing it in action.
This year’s Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair (SFLF) showed that manufacturers – who, after all, need to sell new products and make a profit – are taking a big step into this new world of sustainability. Here’s how they’re doing it.
Swedese has also discovered the beauty of offcuts, which they had previously used in the furnace to heat the factory. Last year the Swedish company presented this mirror made of discarded wood. Swedese has now relaunched it with lower relief on the frame.
Mirror: by Front for Swedese
Mirror: by Front for Swedese
The influence of another iconic Swedese piece, the Lamino chair, can be seen in their new double-tiered cake stand, with its bent wood handles. It is likewise made of discarded wood.
Table: by Front, for Swedese
Here’s why restored wood is the ‘it’ material
Table: by Front, for Swedese
Here’s why restored wood is the ‘it’ material
Innovating with natural materials
One of the more sensational new sustainable products was found in the fair’s so-called Greenhouse area, where up-and-coming designers and design schools get the opportunity to showcase their prototypes. Young Danish designer Nikolaj Thrane Carlsen, along with his company TangForm (SeaweedShape), presented The Coastal Furniture chair, which has a shell made out of two different kinds of seaweed. Its legs are made out of recycled bamboo flooring, and the whole is assembled using only four sets of screws and brackets.
“I simply wanted to create an environmentally friendly alternative to today’s furniture industry, where most products are made of wood, metal and plastic and where only very little is recycled,” he says. He found inspiration on the small Danish island of Læsø, where the eelgrass found along the coasts has traditionally been used for roof building. Some of these have lasted for over 300 years, demonstrating that this is a truly sustainable solution.
One of the more sensational new sustainable products was found in the fair’s so-called Greenhouse area, where up-and-coming designers and design schools get the opportunity to showcase their prototypes. Young Danish designer Nikolaj Thrane Carlsen, along with his company TangForm (SeaweedShape), presented The Coastal Furniture chair, which has a shell made out of two different kinds of seaweed. Its legs are made out of recycled bamboo flooring, and the whole is assembled using only four sets of screws and brackets.
“I simply wanted to create an environmentally friendly alternative to today’s furniture industry, where most products are made of wood, metal and plastic and where only very little is recycled,” he says. He found inspiration on the small Danish island of Læsø, where the eelgrass found along the coasts has traditionally been used for roof building. Some of these have lasted for over 300 years, demonstrating that this is a truly sustainable solution.
In order to make the seaweed into a material firm and durable enough to last as a chair, Thrane Carlsen experimented with different kinds of glue until he came up with the idea of using carrageenan, an extract from red edible seaweeds, which is widely used in the food industry for thickening and stabilising food. “By mixing carrageenan powder with water, then adding eelgrass, I ended up with a ‘seaweed dough’,” he says. After shaping it by hand and leaving it in an oven at low heat for two days, the material turned into the strong and firm chair. “And no, after the long drying process the design does not smell of seaweed,” Thrane Carlsen adds with a smile.
Thrane Carlsen invented the double seaweed material and created the chair as his graduating project – a materials study – for The School of Architecture in Copenhagen. The Greenhouse jury named it the Best Performance 2019.
The young designer himself hopes that his chair – alongside a lamp, a bar stool and a side table in the same seaweed material – is just the beginning of a sustainable adventure in the design industry. “So far my main focus has been on the material, so there are still endless opportunities to explore when it comes to designing and shaping furniture,” he says.
The young designer himself hopes that his chair – alongside a lamp, a bar stool and a side table in the same seaweed material – is just the beginning of a sustainable adventure in the design industry. “So far my main focus has been on the material, so there are still endless opportunities to explore when it comes to designing and shaping furniture,” he says.
Another statement for sustainability comes from the Swedish firm Baux, which vests materials that are usually confined to hardware store shelves with a high level of design sensibility. Their eye-catching stand at SFLF was built out of sound-absorbing Acoustic Pulp panels, which are produced from 100 per cent organic materials. And if even a sustainability champion like Stella McCartney is using Baux materials in her shops, the credibility factor is high.
The sound-absorbing interior panels were created in partnership with the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm and are made mainly from wood pulp, dyed with wheat bran. “When it became clear that we could organically mimic nature’s own characteristics, like the fire retardancy properties of grass roots, the water repellency of lotus flowers or the strength of the catalytic combination of potatoes, plant wax and citrus fruits, we knew we were onto something revolutionary,” says founding partner Fredrik Franzon.
Learn all about acoustic panels
Learn all about acoustic panels
Is that actually recycled?
At a time when there is an increasing focus on the world’s consumption – and waste – of plastic, you might ask yourself: Can’t we reuse some of all the plastic in furniture production? The Danish design house Houe has answered that question in the affirmative with their Falk chair, which the company says is the first chair in the world to be made of post-consumer plastic. It was designed by Danish designer Thomas Pedersen and produced in Randers, Denmark, from plastic recycled directly from Danish household waste in the local area.
Despite this emphasis on sustainability, for Houe it was crucial that the chair not look recycled. “The design is not affected by the fact that it is made from recycled plastic, and we did not want to make a single design compromise for the sake of the recycled material. We wanted to make a chair that is just as beautiful as any other, non-sustainable, chair,” says founder Lars Houe.
At a time when there is an increasing focus on the world’s consumption – and waste – of plastic, you might ask yourself: Can’t we reuse some of all the plastic in furniture production? The Danish design house Houe has answered that question in the affirmative with their Falk chair, which the company says is the first chair in the world to be made of post-consumer plastic. It was designed by Danish designer Thomas Pedersen and produced in Randers, Denmark, from plastic recycled directly from Danish household waste in the local area.
Despite this emphasis on sustainability, for Houe it was crucial that the chair not look recycled. “The design is not affected by the fact that it is made from recycled plastic, and we did not want to make a single design compromise for the sake of the recycled material. We wanted to make a chair that is just as beautiful as any other, non-sustainable, chair,” says founder Lars Houe.
Since the chair’s shell contains 15% glass plus a tiny bit of colour, 80-85% of the material is made from the recycled household plastic which would otherwise have been burned.
“But let’s not be overly pretentious,” Houe says. “The best thing you can do for the planet is to not buy a new chair. But if you are going to buy a new chair I believe that design companies like us have a responsibility to minimise the damage to the environment.”
“But let’s not be overly pretentious,” Houe says. “The best thing you can do for the planet is to not buy a new chair. But if you are going to buy a new chair I believe that design companies like us have a responsibility to minimise the damage to the environment.”
The Norwegian company Heymat has found another innovative use for recycled plastic. They recently launched Heymat+, a series of doormats with pile made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. They get additional sustainability points for their durability: They’re built to last for decades.
“Design could, and should, be sustainable,” says Sonja Djønne, CEO of Heymat. “We try to make a mat that has industrial qualities, but at the same time looks so good that you would like to have it in your home,” she says.
Heymat+ rug: designed by Kristine Five Melvær for Heymat
“Design could, and should, be sustainable,” says Sonja Djønne, CEO of Heymat. “We try to make a mat that has industrial qualities, but at the same time looks so good that you would like to have it in your home,” she says.
Heymat+ rug: designed by Kristine Five Melvær for Heymat
Anti-design
When something is so perfectly designed and functional that there is no need to buy anything new, a different way of thinking about sustainably is born – maybe it could be called “anti-design.” British designer Jasper Morrison’s collaboration with Iittala could fall into this category. His new series of tableware, Raami, is so (deceptively) simple it almost becomes a cliché. Teapots, plates, bowls, wine glasses and tumblers take on the form of their platonic ideals – the iconic form that a child might draw.
Tumblers: part of the Raami collection by Jasper Morrison for Iittala
When something is so perfectly designed and functional that there is no need to buy anything new, a different way of thinking about sustainably is born – maybe it could be called “anti-design.” British designer Jasper Morrison’s collaboration with Iittala could fall into this category. His new series of tableware, Raami, is so (deceptively) simple it almost becomes a cliché. Teapots, plates, bowls, wine glasses and tumblers take on the form of their platonic ideals – the iconic form that a child might draw.
Tumblers: part of the Raami collection by Jasper Morrison for Iittala
Somewhere to put your keys and hang your coat in the hallway? A coat hook with integrated shelf doesn’t have to be more complicated than this. Timeless, easy on the eye and clever with materials.
Hook: Kapten One by Mia Cullin för Gemla
This is why wall hooks are an answer to everything
Hook: Kapten One by Mia Cullin för Gemla
This is why wall hooks are an answer to everything
Image from the NM& exhibition at SFLF, photo by Gustaf Kaiser
New designs built to last – a return to the past
Looking back to a time when furniture was built and bought for a lifetime is also a path to sustainability, and a considerate kind of consumption that has traditionally been big in the Nordics.
One of the biggest commissioners of new products in Sweden in 2018 was the newly renovated Nationalmuseum for art and design. The grand 19th-century building was extensively restored, but 20 different Nordic manufacturers were commissioned to produce glass, tableware, textiles and furniture for the museum under the supervision of designer Matti Klenell. Some of the pieces are now also available for purchase.
New designs built to last – a return to the past
Looking back to a time when furniture was built and bought for a lifetime is also a path to sustainability, and a considerate kind of consumption that has traditionally been big in the Nordics.
One of the biggest commissioners of new products in Sweden in 2018 was the newly renovated Nationalmuseum for art and design. The grand 19th-century building was extensively restored, but 20 different Nordic manufacturers were commissioned to produce glass, tableware, textiles and furniture for the museum under the supervision of designer Matti Klenell. Some of the pieces are now also available for purchase.
One piece stands out from this collection, both for its innovative design and for reflecting the Nordic countries’ love and respect for childhood. The high chair in the middle of this photo is encircled with a ring of thick, luxuriously gold-coloured plastic. This food tray therefore doubles as a kind of halo and adds a touch of elegance to this functional chair. Designers Anna von Schewen and Björn Dahlström call the chair Lilla Skatt (Little Treasure), since no matter how many treasures and pieces of art surround a child in the museum, her or she is still the most highly valued.
Chapeau chair (left): by TAF Studios for Offecct; Lilla Skatt high chair: by Anna von Schewen and Björn Dahlström for Articles; Putki light: by Matti Klenell för Iittala
Chapeau chair (left): by TAF Studios for Offecct; Lilla Skatt high chair: by Anna von Schewen and Björn Dahlström for Articles; Putki light: by Matti Klenell för Iittala
Creating furniture for a public space that carries a heavy design heritage, with the remit of mixing classic looks and modernity is no light matter. But the Botero chair by Matti Klenell and Peter Andersson does all of these things. The soft, leather-upholstered back makes you want to linger, the wooden frame wouldn’t look out of place in a 19th-century Nordic kitchen and the sweeping back takes you to a Victorian living room.
Botero Chair: by Matti Klenell and Peter Andersson for Källemo
Botero Chair: by Matti Klenell and Peter Andersson for Källemo
The Victorian period returns in Anna Berglund’s grandiose light for BSweden. Named after the designer’s grandmother Valborg, the light draws on the colours and forms of a Victorian parlour, but goes contemporary with the extended LED lightbulb and simplified shape.
Valborg Light: by Anna Berglund for BSweden
Valborg Light: by Anna Berglund for BSweden
Japanordic: Sustainability’s old friend
This historic turn highlights the fact that Scandinavian interest in sustainability is nothing new. Another big theme this year, Japanordic – the happy marriage between Japanese and Nordic design – also gets at the roots of the sustainable movement. Both Scandinavian and Japanese design have always prized craftsmanship, natural materials, a minimalist and anti-consumerist approach, as well as the imperfect and changing object: long-lasting design that matures and acquires patina over time. So in many ways, this year’s other big trend both echoes and presages the current shift to sustainability.
In the Design Bar at SFLF, Norwegian designers Anderssen & Voll created an oasis of calm within the busy fair, with a courtyard restaurant and meeting place full of trees, peace and light, fast-growing sustainable woods.
This home shows new trends in design and sustainability
This historic turn highlights the fact that Scandinavian interest in sustainability is nothing new. Another big theme this year, Japanordic – the happy marriage between Japanese and Nordic design – also gets at the roots of the sustainable movement. Both Scandinavian and Japanese design have always prized craftsmanship, natural materials, a minimalist and anti-consumerist approach, as well as the imperfect and changing object: long-lasting design that matures and acquires patina over time. So in many ways, this year’s other big trend both echoes and presages the current shift to sustainability.
In the Design Bar at SFLF, Norwegian designers Anderssen & Voll created an oasis of calm within the busy fair, with a courtyard restaurant and meeting place full of trees, peace and light, fast-growing sustainable woods.
This home shows new trends in design and sustainability
The Japanordic influence can be seen in the products of many manufacturers, like Carl Hansen or Design House Stockholm, with strict grids, black details and pieces that were so pared-back they almost don’t look designed. Craft and handiwork was as always the focus for Artek (pictured) at SFLF, where the joy of the furniture is as much in its silky smooth finish as in its visual aesthetics.
Atelier chair: by TAF Studio for Artek, designed for the Nationalmuseum (see below)
Atelier chair: by TAF Studio for Artek, designed for the Nationalmuseum (see below)
The sum of all trends
Rounding out and distilling these various trends is the NM& 040 chair. This is also one of the products for Nationalmuseum, but with a decidedly Eastern look in its fretwork. Designed by Matti Klenell, it is created by the historic Larsson Korgmakare workshop in Stockholm’s Old Town, only a few hundred yards across the water from where it is now used in the museum restaurant – it is locally produced, international in style but with a simple Nordic touch, and made with sustainable materials. In short, the 2019 Nordic trends in one single chair.
Read more:
Top Designers Reveal Why They Love Scandinavian Design
Tell us:
What do you love about Nordic design? Tell us in the Comments below.
Rounding out and distilling these various trends is the NM& 040 chair. This is also one of the products for Nationalmuseum, but with a decidedly Eastern look in its fretwork. Designed by Matti Klenell, it is created by the historic Larsson Korgmakare workshop in Stockholm’s Old Town, only a few hundred yards across the water from where it is now used in the museum restaurant – it is locally produced, international in style but with a simple Nordic touch, and made with sustainable materials. In short, the 2019 Nordic trends in one single chair.
Read more:
Top Designers Reveal Why They Love Scandinavian Design
Tell us:
What do you love about Nordic design? Tell us in the Comments below.
Lilla Snåland chair: by Marie-Louise Hellgren for Stolab