Scandinavia Dreaming: Nordic Homes, Interiors And Design

Scandinavia DreamingThe new book Scandinavia Dreaming: Nordic Homes, Interiors and Designs showcases the unique interiors, architecture, and products of Nordic spaces. Deeply reflecting the open, light, friendly, and yet moody, sleek and sophisticated designs, this book provides insight into this region’s creative scene.

Northerners are influenced by their close proximity to nature. This closeness has led to resourcefulness, practicality, and resilience in extreme weather, amongst often impenetrable terrains. In ways, nature has greatly influenced the materials, crafts and technologies unique to each Nordic country; affecting Nordic creatives and the work they make.

Experimentation and intervention seems to be the pulse behind Nordic design. Similarities and differences in each region’s architecture, art, fashion, and furniture allow for a variety of textures, colors, patterns, and at times a degree of darkness. By presenting projects, designs, and creative works, Scandinavia Dreaming gives a glance into Northern Europe’s diverse creativity.

Demos Helsinki

Demos is a Nordic non-profit think tank that promotes a healthy engagement between nature and man. Founded by Roope Mokka and Aleksi Neuvonen, to conduct research for the Finnish Innovation Fund, Demos explores the shifts in causes and sources of well-being in Finland. Conducting studies with the help from experts, academics, entrepreneurs, corporations, governments, communities, cities, and civic groups, Demos develops strategies for using human and natural resources in wise and inventive ways on the international scale.

Scandinavia Dreaming

This think tank is ‘Nordic’ in the sense that it explicitly examines Nordic values, including: respect, tolerance, trust, equality, justice, and human centrism. Demos hopes to translate high level research into concrete action. This involves the envisioning of resource-smart business models, new modes of city living, and fresh concepts for public space. Their work demonstrates how Nordic think tanks can produce bold, innovative, sociopolitical, creative results.

Scandinavia Dreaming

Kustaa Saksi

Kustaa Saksi is a Finnish visual artist, textile designer and illustrator based in Amsterdam, specializing in graphic storytelling through patterns, textile art and installations. His creations are often inspired by the natural Finnish landscape and dream-like states of mind. His Hypnopomic series was inspired by the darkness before dawn; Reveille was inspired by awakenings; and Woolgathering pieces are inspired by daydreams. By exploring the creatures and landscapes of night terrors and daydreams, Saski weaves a story about human dreamscapes.

Scandinavia Dreaming

Scandinavia Dreaming

Room

Room is a unique shelving system comprised of twenty-five stackable timber blocks that can be arranged in various combinations. The collaborative design team, Acne JR and creative duo, Erik Olovsson and Kyuhyung Cho were interested in diversifying the relationship between object and space to create furniture as niche spaces to display objects. Room consists of wooden cubes with geometric voids – rooms – which enable endless combinations and playful features. Characterized by perforations in various different shapes, Rooms can be transformed into a shelf, table, or sculpture with niches for objects to be displayed.

Scandinavia Dreaming

The Mirror Cube

Based in Stockholm since 1999, Bolle Tham and Martin Videgard have been practicing experimental Swedish architecture. The reason their work is “Swedish” is because it is built strictly in Sweden. The respect for place and nature was taken into context when designing and building the The Mirror Cube for the Treehotel in Harads.

Scandinavia Dreaming

In the west, Sweden’s natural setting is heavily forested; 69 percent of the country is pine and birch woodland. Each “room” at the Treehotel is a tree house designed by a different architectural team. Tham and Videgard’s low impact scheme covered a 4x4x4m cube entirely in mirrored glass, making it disappear into the sky and the canopy; camouflaged by the surrounding landscape. The construction was meant to allude to how man relates to nature, how we use high tech materials and products when exploring remote places in harsh climates.

Scandinavia Dreaming

Through this collection of Nordic design, Scandinavia Dreaming provides insight into the regions creative community. This presentation shows how the north is pioneering the kinds of work places, communities, homes, designs, products, and civil societies that will move us forward. Simplicity and natural materials combined with local ideals creates design that is truly Scandinavian.

Scandinavia Dreaming: Nordic Homes, Interiors and Design
Editors: Angel Trinidad and Gestalten
Release Date: September 2016
Format: 24 × 30 cm
Full color, hardcover, 288 pages
Language: English
ISBN: 978-3-89955-670-4