Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Design in Norway
Odd Thorsen AS, together with Vulkan Smith, has launched a new series of outdoor furniture, ParkCity, which includes different benches, lights and rubbish bins.
Odd Thorsen AS maintains values of the past while developing products for the future The Oslo-based industrial design studio continues to influence and mark public as well as private spaces with its timeless and functional solutions. Whether involving a kitchen sink or metro stations across Oslo, Odd Thorsen AS provides compelling designs.
little room for surprises. “No projects are alike, but the way we work creates a sense of security on our side as well as the client’s side.”
By Anne Line Kaxrud | Photos: Odd Thorsen AS
“Design for public and private spaces”
Odd Thorsen AS draws on its experience as an established office as well as the innovative approach of a young workforce, which combined create the atmosphere that is reflected in its slogan: Maintaining values of the past with an eye toward the future. “As opposed to mobile phones, which are exchanged once a new and better model is released, we strive to develop designs that last a lifetime,” notes managing director and owner Halvor Thorsen. Supporting framework for each and every project Odd Thorsen established the company with the same name in the early 1980s,
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and after he passed away in 2005, his son Halvor Thorsen took over as managing director. The company changed considerably after the takeover, although the initial values and ideology remain important guidelines, with focus on a fundamental framework underlying each and every project. “Our methodology is the same regardless of the size and nature of a project, which provides us with guidelines throughout the process, and ensures that nothing is accidental,” Thorsen explains. “Our approach is quite Scandinavian in the way that the theoretical framework underlies every project.” Combined with close cooperation with the client, there is
Odd Thorsen AS has a varied portfolio, ranging from kitchen sinks to public transportation systems. Having been involved in projects related to the Olympic Games at Lillehammer in 1994, the Oslo Airport Express Train (1998) and the Oslo Subway (2008), Odd Thorsen AS has left its touch on numerous spaces. The studio continues to steer its attention toward public spaces, and together with Vulkan Smith, they have just launched a new series of outdoor furniture, ParkCity, which includes different benches, lights and rubbish bins. “We predominantly work on typical ‘everyday products’, which people normally do not notice but are crucial in the public space. It is particularly rewarding to