'Awkward' tables by Marte Frøystad, as part of the Furuhaelvetica project

Pine. When it comes to furniture design, it’s not really the kind of wood to set the heart racing. Think of pine and a raft of rather negative images comes all too readily to mind: bargain furniture outlet stores, student accommodation, cheaply made 1980s kitchens. You get the picture. But it’s all in the application, as a group of young Norwegian designers, collaborating as part of an ongoing workshop called Furuhaelvetica, proved at this year’s Designersblock show during the London Design Festival.

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'Eva', a chair that both tilts and swivels by Anderssen & Voll

At this year’s 100% Design in London the Norwegian newly founded design duo Anderssen & Voll, both co-founders of Norway Says, will present their latest output: ‘Eva’ – an armchair that both tilts and swivels. It is especially designed for Juvet Landskapshotell in Norway, a hotel designed by Jensen & Skodvin as part of the Norwegian National Tourist Routes Project. With ‘Eva’ the designers join traditional contruction in wood and modern textile technology. For this purpose they developed together with Innofa in Tilburg (NL) a special knitted wool textile that stretches and contracts leaving the chair visually rooted in all positions no matter how you swivel or tilt the chair.

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Diffusors in various colours - 'Colour' (prototype) by Daniel Rybakken and Andreas Engesvik, photo by Kalle Sanner

This delicate floorlamp is the result of a collaboration between the two Norwegian designers Daniel Rybakken and Andreas Engesvik, co-founder of the recently seperated studio Norway Says. The free standing fully adjustable structure composed of monochromatic glass panels enables the user to compose light using diffusors in various colours.

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Svalbard Science Centre 78°north by Jarmund / Vigsnæs AS Architects MNAL, photo by Nils Petter Dale / nispe@datho.no

This extension of an existing university and research building in Svalbard (Spitzbergen), in the very north of Norway was realised by the Oslo based Jarmund / Vigsnæs AS Architects MNAL. The construction which also provides new facilities for the Svalbard Museum is characterised by a faceted insulated copper-clad skin. Its shape is the result of climatic 3D simulations which have been undertaken in order to assure that the accumulation of snow would not create undesired conditions in front of doors and windows.

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New Holmenkollen Fyr by JDS Architects

Even though the new ski-jumping hill ‘New Holmenkollen Fyr’ in Oslo designed by the Danish JDS Architects is not fully completed, some jumps will be held on 13th and 14th of March. It is a trial test before the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships next year in Oslo, 24th of February – 6th March 2011.


“On the 3rd of March, Annette Sagen became the first official ski jumper to jump 106.5 meters during the opening ceremony of the Skijump, which set a new Holmenkollen jump record. From the 20 ski jumpers taking part of the opening ceremony, Rune Vetla, a local ski jumper had the longest jump at 141 meters, breaking and currently holding the record at Holmenkollen hill!”

New Holmenkollen Fyr by JDS Architects

After this weekend’s event, JDS Architects will continue the remaining work on the completion plans until 2011.


to the JDS Architects profile @ Architonic

'Eurovisions' exhibition by Fanstatic Norway

The Oslo based design and architecture studio Fantastic Norway designed the ‘Eurovisions’ exhibition which shows future visions for Vardø, Trondheim and Oslo – the winning entries of the architectural competition Europan 10. The proposals are displayed within a large lanscape of silhouettes at the main hall in DogA (Norwegian Centre for Deign and Architecture). ‘Eurovisions’ will be open until 14th February.

'Eurovisions' exhibition by Fanstatic Norway

'Eurovisions' exhibition by Fanstatic Norway

'Eurovisions' exhibition by Fanstatic Norway

'Eurovisions' exhibition by Fanstatic Norway

Walking Berlin with Fantastic Norway

‘Cardboard Cloud’ by Fantastic Norway

to the Fantastic Norway website

'Boxhome' by Rintala Eggertsson Architects, photo by Ivan Brodey

The Oslo based Rintala Eggertsson Architects reaslised this modest 19sqm house in their home city. By focusing on the quality of space, material and natural light, and reducing unnecessary floor area the architects underline their political view on modern, responible architecture.

'Boxhouse by Rintala Eggertsson Architects, photo by Ivan Brodey

Here is what the architects proclaim:

“In the North all buildings for living have to be made in an advanced way due to the ever-contrasting weather. Additionally, the houses have to be properly heated with external energy more than half of the year’s course. Therefore producing smaller homes would bring about a considerable economical and ecological benefit. Today the construction activity stands alone for more than one third of total global energy and material consumption, well exceeding that of all traffic and transport.

This should be a crucial question especially in Scandinavia, where people, in accordance with their growing wealth, possess larger and larger houses. And in most cases, this in addition to a second home called a summer house or a cottage.”

'Boxhome' by Rintala Eggertsson Architects, photo by Sami Rintala

“Boxhome is a 19 square meter dwelling with four rooms covering the basic living functions: kitchen with dining, bathroom, living room and bedroom.

Firstly, the project focuses in the quality of space, material and natural light, and tries to reduce unnecessary floor area. The result is a dwelling where the price is only 1/4 of the price of any same size apartment in the same area. Boxhome is a prototype building, yet the same attitude could be taken further to bigger family housing and consequently to work places.”

Dining room, 'Boxhouse' by Rintala Eggertsson Architects, photo by Are Carlsen

“Secondly, it seems that we have given the right to produce our homes to uncontrollable groups of actors who seek mostly maximum income. The basic need to have one’s family protected has become a great business adventure. Making a simple house, after all, is perhaps not such a difficult task that it should be totally left for this kind of forces. Moreover, meeting the official construction restrictions and laws usually seems to equal to the using of the building industry products and services, thus limiting the possibilities of a real change and development into minimum.”

'Boxhouse' by Rintala Eggertsson Architects

“Thirdly, in Western societies at the moment we are enjoying the highest standard of living ever know to human kind. At the same time we are fully informed of the results of our culture of consumerism. Therein lays the greatest paradox: We are forced to actively forget the real reality to be able to enjoy the facade of excess we have created around us.

Finally, and most importantly, the goal has been to make a peaceful small home, a kind of urban cave, where a person can withdraw to, and whenever wished, forget the intensity of the surrounding city for awhile.”

photo by Ivan Bodey

Customer: Galleri ROM, Maridalsveien 3, Oslo, Norvey
Curator: Henrik de Mensassian

Project partners: Sami Rintala, architect Oslo, Dagur Eggertson, architect Oslo, John Roger Holte, artist Oslo, Julian Fors, architect student Vienna

Sponsors: Aspelin-Ramm/ funding, Infill/ funding, Ruukki/ metal facades, Pilkington Floatglass/ windows, Optimera Industri/ interior wood, Vitra Scandinavia/ chair and lamps, SM-Lys/ lamps, Byggmakker/ construction material, Glava Isolasjon/ insulation

Materials: wood: pine/ structures, cypress/ interior walls and floors, birch/ kitchen, spruce/ bathroom, red oak/ living room, nut/ bedroom, aluminium: facades

Size: exterior measures 5500 cm (length) x 5700 cm (height) x 2300 cm (width)

Floor area: 19 square meters

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to the Rintala Eggertsson Architects website

‘Tomas Sæmundsson Centre’ Rangarvallasysla / Iceland by Rintala Eggertsson Architects

Gjerdrum Secondary School by Kristin Jarmund Architects, photo by Rune Stokmo

In 2007 the Oslo based Kristin Jarmund Architects won the competition for the Secondary School in Gjerdrum, a small city in central Norway. With very few adjustments the project was realised in August this year.

Tilted facade, Secondary School by Kristin Jarmund Architects, photo by Sonja Middelhuis

Let’s see what the architects say:

“The roof is shaped as the terrain folded up from the ground. The tilted wall towards south become the stand for the sports fields and can also be used for teaching purposes for smaller groups. Under the roof all the schools functions are pushed under. An open landscape with smaller volumes, as houses within the house, creates a rich inner school atmosphere. Because of the compact building volume we have achieved short distances and almost no corridors. The compact plan invites to activity and use, with openness and connectivity in the inner school landscape. Some of the rooms are “Inverse” – outdoors atriums cut out of the building mass and allows daylight to penetrate the building. The main entrance to the east leads into a circular open schoolyard atrium which is placed in the centre of the building volume. The school layout is solved with a huge degree of variation in its internal room composition.”

Gjerdrum Secondary School by Kristin Jarmund Architects, photo by Rune Stokmo

“The three different years uses three different areas within the plan, and there’s an emphasis on the use of flexibility in spatial solutions and possibilities for multi use and shared functions. Different parts of the school can be closed to create spaces that can be used separately at night time.

Outside the school there are areas with different qualities, both urban and green areas – which contrast and supplement each other. The school building with adjacent outdoor areas will together with the future sports facilities be a coherent complex with both functional and architectonic qualities.”

Gjerdrum Secondary School by Kristin Jarmund Architects, photo by Rune Stokmo

Courtyard, Gjerdrum Secondary School Kristin Jarmund Architects, photo by Rune Stokmo

Bathrooms, Gjerdrum Secondary School by Kristin Jarmund Architects, photo by Rune Stokmo

Principal Architect: Kristin Jarmund, siv..ark. MNAL/ MNIL

Project Architect: Geir Messel siv..ark. MNAL

Architect team: Line Strand int.ark. MNIL, Arild Eriksen siv..ark. MNAL, Francis Brekke siv..ark. MNAL, Nora Müller Dipl. Ing Arkitektur, Karin Anton Dipl. Ing. Arkitektur

Client: Gjerdrum Kommune

Project Type: 1st prize. Invited competition, autumn 2007

Building type: Secondary School, 320 students

Size: 3900 sq.m.

Project Cost: ca. 170 million NOK

Completed: August 2009

to the Kristin Jarmund website

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