Contemporary Design in Scandinavia

The companion book to Nordic Architects highlights the contemporary talents working in a region that has been famous for product, furniture, and industrial design since the reign of Gustaf. In design as in architecture, recent progress has been defined by a clean aesthetic, craftsmanship, and empathy for the human experience. These traditions have prefigured the latest trends in Western design, such as universal access and the burgeoning of ecofriendly design. But other recent...
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The companion book to Nordic Architects highlights the contemporary talents working in a region that has been famous for product, furniture, and industrial design since the reign of Gustaf. In design as in architecture, recent progress has been defined by a clean aesthetic, craftsmanship, and empathy for the human experience. These traditions have prefigured the latest trends in Western design, such as universal access and the burgeoning of ecofriendly design. But other recent movements, like the emphasis on intellectual conceit over formmaking, have perhaps caught designers off-guard. In informal interviews with 60 of the region's best-known designers, such as Peter Opsvik, Front, and Ilkka Suppanen, writer and editor David Sokol explores the once and future Nordic identity, the exigencies of local manufacturing, and the competitive global marketplace.