2_4_ScanMagazine_Issue_81_Oct-Nov_2015_Scan Magazine 1 16/10/2015 11:09 Page 28
Scan Magazine | Architecture Special | Sweden
Architecture Special: Sweden
Taking the temperature of Swedish design and architecture Svensk Form has organised design awards for many years as a vital part of its activities. It gives a good indication of what is happening here and now within Swedish design in its broadest sense. At the top of the agenda are today’s global social, economic and environmental challenges, which is also evident within the award entries. This year, Svensk Form celebrates 170 years as the oldest design promotion society in the world. During its long history, Svensk Form has always been at the forefront of new initiatives and groundbreaking exhibitions, addressing the most acute issues of each time. By Ewa Kumlin, managing director of Svensk Form | Photos: Svensk Form
The national design award Design S includes everything from individual products to system solutions and high-tech innovations. There are categories from craft to service design, from fashion to architecture. For the younger generation there is a special award, Ung Svensk Form (Young Swedish Design), which opens a window to the future and showcases the up-and-coming tendencies within design. Ung Svensk Form has no categories but is open to all forms of experiments, concepts and prototypes.
In the architecture category within Design S, the project BuzzBuilding, an insect city created by Belatchew Lab, was awarded. The design is a lifestyle-changing urban space that unites Stockholm’s inhabitants with nature’s, an excellent way to visualise new architectural concepts: fun, radical and intellectually provoking for urbanities who want to reduce their impact on the climate. Swedish architects are not afraid of being playful with their choice of shape and materials, and sustainability is a priority among all successful design and archi-
tecture firms. The natural surroundings with cold temperatures, woods and rocks make demands on practical awareness, and functionality is key in Swedish design, running beautifully alongside Nordic aesthetics more generally. As for the younger generation, the social and environmental dedication was obvious, as was the return to crafts with natural materials in wood, glass and stone. The textile and fashion section was exceptionally strong in this edition, which is an indication of the successful textile research that has made huge leaps recently in Sweden. For the younger generation, there is no such thing as a clearly Scandinavian or minimalistic style but rather a healthy diversity. “Swedish design today is simply everything created and made in Sweden, where many ideas can be expressed and flourish side by side. What we have in common is the surrounding society, the commitment to an enduring quality of life, the informal and non-hierarchical values and yes, I still have to admit, usually quite a practical approach after all,” managing director at Svensk Form, Ewa Kumlin, explains.
Svensk Form, founded in 1845, is a Swedish design society that works to stimulate the design development and promote Swedish design internationally, including encouraging Swedish designers and architects in every field. The organisation has its own magazine, Form, founded in 1905, which is published in both English and Swedish six times a year since 1905.
Ewa Kumlin, managing director of Svensk Form
28 | Issue 81 | October 2015
Photo: Shutterstock
For more information, please visit svenskform.se www.design-s.se www.ungsvenskform.se