2_3_ScanMagazine_Issue_81_Oct-Nov_2015_Scan Magazine 1 15/10/2015 21:35 Page 34
The energy-plus building at Brofästet, Norra Djurgårdsstaden.
Going with the flow “Our architecture is less about design and style and more about people,” says Morten Johansson, one half of the duo behind Stockholm-based architecture firm DinellJohansson. “Every construction project is complicated, and there are always loads and loads of people involved. Our philosophy is that if you like each other and enjoy working hard together, then you’ll have a great project. It’s all about dedication.” By Linnea Dunne | Photos: DinellJohansson
Along with the willingness to open up to a complex collaborative process where plenty of people feel that a great deal is at stake, comes a necessity to let go of some degree of control. “It’s easy to get caught up in the anxiety around a project turning out pretty and aesthetically perfect just because you’re in the design industry, but we don’t work like that,” says Kalle Dinell, the other half of this architectural equation. “Buildings aren’t works of art. We
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don’t work in isolation, and we just can’t control what comes out; there are so many different desires involved, and the greater context of society as a whole plays a part too. We want to be open to all of these factors and go on a journey with every project.” A go-with-the-flow kind of attitude has followed the firm’s path from day one, when Dinell and Johansson left the studio
where they had been co-workers for around ten years to start their own firm in 2010. “We never really had a vision as such,” they admit. “We’ve sort of allowed the projects to lead the way, focusing on the people involved and having fun with them. Prestigious or not, big or small budget – none of that matters.” A club house of drive and passion Epitomising the architecture firm’s core values perfectly is the World Architecture Festival (WAF) nominated sports club facility, Lidingövallen. What started as an old client’s query about contacts to help get planning permission for a club house for the sports club he chaired, ended up as somewhat of a wildcard project, providing a multi-award winning all-in-one solution