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Legendary Mathieu Matêgot Flirting with Danish Interior Designers

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November 21, 2014

Legendary Mathieu Matêgot Flirting with Danish Interior Designers

Mathieu Matêgot’s Organic Forms Presented by the Danish Interior Design Company Gubi.

Mathieu Matégot’s lightness of touch created a sense of joy and was the ground breaking and innovative techniques that resulted in unique aesthetics and, above all, contemporary designs.

Today, Matégot’s designs are equally fit for the purpose as when they were originally conceived, and his legendary designs are both timeless and classic.

Like many of his peers Mategot travelled the world in search of inspiration, techniques and upon return transformed these impressions into his own unique designs and interpretations. Whether it was industrial processes or aesthetics, he always collected and interpreted – he even patented and set up his own production to apply these new technologies into his designs, He was a true innovator of his time!

From the spring of 2014 Gubi’s collection of original Mategot designs will include: The Nagasaki Chair & Stool, The Dedal Shelf, The Mategot Coatrack and the Kangourou Table plus four new pieces; The Mategot Trolley, The Demon Shelf and the Copacabana chair and tables.

It was presented this year at IMM Cologne, at Maison & Object Paris and at Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair. The new designs are now available at selected retailers, so the legendary Mathieu Mategot is now flirting with Danish interior designers.

Mathieu Matégot (1910 – 2001) was a Hungarian designer and architect. After studying at Budapest’s school of art and architecture, he settled in France

Norwegian Designer Makes Traditionally Knitted Reading Lamps

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November 20, 2014

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Norwegian Designer Makes Traditionally Knitted Reading Lamps

Cosy Concept is all about going back in time, use old handicraft techniques and old patterns to give them a modern look. With traditional patterns the Norwegian designer Turid Lindeland creates handicrafts of high quality.

Turid has written the book Garnglede i Rosendal (Joy with Yarn in Rosendal), inspired by an old sock pattern and an old hotel from 1887 in Rosendal. She has given traditional patterns a modern look both when it comes to color and choice of models. Her vision is to preserve the ancient handicraft techniques shown here in knitting and crocheting and making tangible products as counterpart to today’s disposable.

Together with the Norwegian design company Northern Lighting, the Norwegian designer Turid Lindeland has created a fusion between old and new. The result is a tribute to the Norwegian folk tradition and design – a real Norwegian icon. They have created the Cosy Concept hand knitted Seed-lamp. The limited edition is made in three different colors: light blue, green and gray.

Seed is a wall mounted nightlight designed to create a unique reading environment. Through a filtered LED light source, Seed creates a soft beam that makes it possible to read in bed while your partner sleeps. The rotatable arm of light enables different angles and can easily be attached to the wall at any desired position.

Norwegian designer, Turid Lineland, now also makes traditionally knitted reading lamps.

Northern Lighting was founded in 2005, and has since established itself as a small dynamic Nordic company specializing in design and manufacture of lights. Northern Lighting creates designer lights for different moods inspired by the unique Nordic nature, culture and society and the very special natural light.

The company delivers its creations to commercial projects and retailers in more than 30 countries, always following the same basic values. Northern Lighting reflects the fact that it is a young, fun, playful and mood-oriented lighting company, which uses its light portfolio to represent and promote the joy of creative design and the Nordic geographical and cultural heritage within the international design scene. The place of origin explains the choice of the name, Northern Lighting – inspired by the company’s positioning on top of the world in the Kingdom of Norway.

Northern Lighting is a commercial hub for designers. The people responsible for the generation of these designer lamps include both young up-and-coming talents and recognized designers. Despite their different levels of experience, the designers have one thing in common; they are fiery souls who are fascinated by the mood-creating possibilities of light.

Two Swedish Sisters sing for Peace in Syria

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November 19, 2014

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Two Swedish Sisters sing for Peace in Syria

Two Swedish sisters from the town of Sodertalje near Stockholm have posted a video on You Tube, now seen by more than 1.3 million.

The two Swedish sisters , Rihan (23) and Faia Younan (22) whose family is from Syria, say on the video that the three-year-long war is “crazy, selfish and illogical”. The sisters speak and even sing in Arabic as they urge politicians to work together and resolve the crisis so the country can be “safe, prosperous, triumphant and dignified” again.

The video, in which the two Swedish sisters sing for peace, was posted at the beginning of October but were first picked up by international media last month. Since then thousands of YouTube users have left comments with the hashtag #ToOurCountries.

‘To Our Countries’ is an 8 minute and 44 second plea to the Arab world to take action against the injustice and suffering sweeping the Middle East. The video is a project produced by a group of youths who live in Sweden, originally from Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq. The two young Syrians created a heartbreakingly exquisite tribute to Iraq, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon; summarizing the mixture of pain and hope that reverberates the troubled region.

Faia says the sisters want to remind everyone how beautiful their native country was and hope it will regain its original charm in the near future.

Many people have contacted them and thanked them for posting the video.

“Our aim is to show the world that there is a need to show something else than blood, crying and destroyed buildings in Syria. Let Syria return to its dignified beauty again,” Faia concludes.

Almost Forgotten Norwegian Romantic Painter Exhibits in National Gallery, London

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November 18, 2014

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Almost Forgotten Norwegian Romantic Painter Exhibits in National Gallery, London

When the prestigious National Gallery in London exhibits the Norwegian landscape painter Peder Balke as a modernistic pioneer it is quite an event.

In 1992 paintings by Edvard Munch was exhibited separately in London National Gallery. In 2010 the “Danish master of Light” Kristen Koebke was exhibited, and last week The National Gallery opened a separate exhibition with the Norwegian modernistic romantic painter, Peder Balke.

28 small paintings by the norwegian romantic painter Peder Balke, once purchased by King Louise Philippe of France, are still on the walls in Musée du Louvre in Paris.

Largely forgotten for more than a century, this Norwegian artist was ahead of his time and is only just being rediscovered and recognized as one of the forerunners of modernism, claims the National Gallery on their website.

This groundbreaking free exhibition is a collaboration with the Northern Norway Art Museum in Tromsoe and exhibits around 50 paintings representing every facet of the artist’s career travelling to London from private and public collections across Europe. The vast majority of these works have never been seen in the UK before.

Peder Balke (1804-1887) represents a link between the classical Koebke and the expressionist Munch. Balke was indeed born some years before Koebke, but lived almost four decades longer, and although both painters share romantic impulses, London Galley finds Balke’s experimental painting techniques particularly interesting.

Sadly Balke’s lack of commercial success, as well as his misfortunes in social projects, forced him to abandon his career as a painter; however his later endeavours as a property developer of housing for the poor, and as a politician, are fascinating and important in their own right. Nevertheless, the small scenes he then painted for his own pleasure are now recognized as highly original improvisations: they are more experimental – with Balke using brushwork or even his hands to suggest seascapes – and extraordinarily prescient of later expressionism.

The exhibition seems to be organized for visitors knowing almost nothing about Balke. Four completely different paintings from Balke’s North Cape are central in this exhibition. These paintings are painted in the course of four decades with shifting light conditions, color and representation of nature.

More than 60 paintings by Balke are exhibited at National Gallery through April 2015.

The exhibition is being curated by Christopher Riopelle, National Gallery Curator of Post-1800 Paintings, in collaboration with Knut Ljøgodt, Director of Northern Norway Art Museum, and Dr Marit Ingeborg Lange (formerly chief curator of the National Gallery of Oslo). Christopher Riopelle said:

”This long-overdue exhibition will highlight Peder Balke’s unique, innovative and virtuosic paintings of Scandinavian seascapes and we sincerely hope it will put an artist, who is richly deserving of recognition among a much wider audience, finally back on the map.”

The National Gallery owns just one painting by Peder Balke: ‘The Tempest‘ (about 1862), which was generously presented to the Gallery in 2010 by Danny and Gry Katz.

Knut Ljøgodt says, ”Peder Balke has only recently been recognized as one of the most outstanding painters of the romantic period. We are thrilled that the National Gallery collaborates with us on this – and we hope that a large, international public will discover Balke’s art. He deserves a place in the art history of the world – alongside Edvard Munch!”

About Peder Balke
Born into poverty on the Norwegian island of Helgøya (in Lake Mjøsa, Eastern Norway) in 1804, Peder Balke studied decorative painting in Christiania for two years from 1827. Determined to become an artist, in 1829 he transferred to Stockholm, where he was taught by the landscape painter Johann Fahlkrantz (Professor at the Art Academy). Balke was drawn to the landscape of Norway; he walked across much of its lower regions and, decisively, in 1832 travelled by ship to the North Cape, a rugged and largely inaccessible area of the country. There he found bleak and original landscape motifs which allowed him to define his highly individual painting style. He continued to explore these motifs in increasingly austere images throughout his career.

Swedish Pop Singer Moved to 1st Place on Billboard’s Radio Songs List

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November 17, 2014

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Swedish Pop Singer Moved to 1st Place on Billboard’s Radio Songs List

The Swedish pop singer Tove Lo, born Tove Nilsson, moved from third to first place on the Billboard’s list with her hazy pop jam “Habits (Stay High)” last week.

The Billboard Radio Songs List measures every kind of music being played on radio stations throughout USA. The hit has thereby reached 131 million listeners just last week.

The Swedish pop singer Tove Lo was raised in a stable, happy household in a posh Stockholm suburb. “IU was always dascinated by something that was a bit more dramatic and dark, so I was kind of looking for that,” said the Swedish pop singer to USA Today.

Tove Lo will perform at Rockefeller Stage in Oslo on Friday January 30^th.

Feature image (on top): Johannes Helje

New designs by Norwegian interior designer Andreas Engesvik

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November 14, 2014

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New designs by Norwegian interior designer Andreas Engesvik

The Norwegian interior designer Andreas Engesvik’s studio is working in various fields of design ranging from furniture and tableware to industrial design for various international clients such as Iittala, Muuto, FontanaArte, Ligne Roset and Asplund.

Here is an overview of some of the latest designs by Engesvik.

Ease – made for Edsbyn kontorsmöbler
made in cooperation with Jens Fager

Ease is a new product line of flexible screen solutions, designed by Jens Fager and Andreas Engesvik for Edsbyn Kontorsmöbler. Ease features light weight panels that link together to create free-standing partitions and room configurations for open areas in offices, hotels and homes. It is easy and quick to construct and to change; unique and diverse in its capabilities to modify the design.

Whether the screen solutions are used as free-standing room dividers, angled partitions or for a complex room configuration, the screens instantly create a positive working atmosphere. In addition, their versatility makes them amenable to any further layout changes.

The Ease screen programme is based on the use of pressed PET fiber technology.

Tiki sofa – made for Fogia
Tiki sofa is a light and casual sofa with great comfort. The visual apperance of the sofa is rooted in the top line of the couch and the silhouette this line creates. The line gives associations to something soft and well used which has been shaped over time; as a garment, shaped leather, wood or a sail. Tiki’s identity lies in this line and the slim and visually lightweight construction.

The sofa is low in both seat height and total height. Tikis thin loose cushions, in combination with the springs in the bottom frame offers a good, old school comfort. The idea is that this comfort not is apparent as one views Tiki – but that it is perceived as one sits.

The aim has been to create a sofa that can withstand use over time. It is solid without being too heavy in weight. The materials used is a mix of visco-elastic foam and regular cut foam – in combination with filling of down.

Sol – made for LK Hjelle
Sol is a versatile little stool with a lot of character and a friendly presence. The low height of Sol makes it subordinate larger furniture. It can stand freely in connection to low tables and sofas or be placed against a wall when not in use. The length of the stool provides space for two people – also suitable for small environments. The canopy gives it direction – a front side and a rear side. It can also act as a light backrest and as a handle when moving it around.

Andreas Engesvik, Oslo was awarded with Elle decorations award in the category Furniture of the year by Norway, for Sol.

Gol cabinet and Gol table made for tonning & stryn
Gol Cabinet and dining table are the two first products in the Gol collection from Tonning & Stryn. The new Norwegian brand Tonning & Stryn, was formerly two separate companies situated in the same small town. They have now joined forces and are focusing on traditional craftsmanship and quality. Gol cabinet and table are made out of solid oak.

New Bunad blankets made for Mandal veveri
Two new versions based on the Beltestakk bunad from East Telemark and the Vest Agder 1810 bunad was launched in January this year in Oslo. The Bunad blankets represents a simplification and transferring of the Norwegian folk costumes and introduces this rich tradition into our daily environments and interiors.

In May 2013, The Bunad blankets won the The Editors Award in the category Best Textile at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York.

About:
Andreas Engesvik has a Bachelors degree in Art History from the University of Bergen Norway (1991/1995). Andreas went on to study Design at the National College of Art and Design.

He graduated in 2000 with a Masters degree in Design and founded in the same year Norway Says. In 2009, after 6 successful years, as a company, Andreas Engesvik went solo and founded his new studio ANDREAS ENGESVIK, OSLO, and he soon became one of the most prestigeous Norwegian interior designers.

Awards (a selection): Red Dot Award 2012 & 2014, Elle Decoration Award (Norway) – Furniture of the year 2013, Designer of the Year 2012 & 2013, Bo Bedre Magazine awards, ICFF Editors Award, best textile, New York 2013, Designer of the Year 2012, Elle Decoration Award, Oslo 2012, IF Product Design Award 2010, Wallpaper design Award 2009, (best light) 2009, Torsten & Wanja Søderberg Award, Sweden 2007, Wallpaper design Award 2004, (best sofa) 2004, The Bruno Mathsson Award, Sweden 2004.

Andreas Engesvik was in 2012 appointed Guest Professor at The University College of Arts, Crafts and Design (Konstfack) in Stockholm.

The First Inhabitants in Scandinavia

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November 13, 2014

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Grauballe Man, one of th first inhabitants in Scandinavia, was discovered in a Danish peat bog in 1952. The victim, in his mid-30s, had eaten a meal of wheat porridge before his throat was slashed and his body dumped. Estimated time of death: 300 BC.

Some of the earliest arrival in this re-sculptured land brought with them tame dogs, knew how to make leather boats, arrows, harpoons and spears. Not much else known about them, so a case has been made for recognizing the nomadic Sami as Scandinavia’s quasi-aboriginals.

Other scholar, the Finnish M. A. Castren, suggested that they and anyone else speaking a Finno-Urgic language, which includes Hungarians, Estonians and the Sami, hailed from Outer Mongolia and could therefore claim kinship with the likes of Genghis Khan.

An increasing number of Finns see themselves as indigenous Baltic folk who drifted into their present location between the Bronze Age and the start of the great European migration in the 5^th century AD.

During the Scandinavian Neolithic periods, hunter-gatherer ways of life gave way over time to agriculture.

The origin of today’s Swedes, Norwegians and Danes are also something of a mystery. In the Mesolithic era, shifting tribes of hunter-gatherers lived along the coasts of Southern Scandinavia, making seasonal trips inland to hunt boar and deer in the rich forests that covered the region at that time.

These inhabitants consisted one of the last major hunter-gatherer complexes in Stone Age Europe, and it was always assumed that they evolved into today’s Scandinavians.

However, in 2009 genetics research conducted at Uppsala University discovered that these hunter-gatherers are not related to modern Scandinavians – in fact, they seem to have vanished entirely from the region around 4,000 years ago.

“The hunter-gatherers who inhabited Scandinavia more than 4,000 years ago had a different gene pool than ours,” explains Anders Götherström of the Department of Evolutionary Biology at Uppsala University, who headed the project together with Eske Willerslev of the Centre for GeoGenetics at the University of Copenhagen.

The theory now is that new influx of people must have settled at the end of the Stone Age – but who they were, nobody knows.

Feature image (on top) copyright Shutterstock

The world’s first sustainable destinations

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November 12, 2014

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The world’s first sustainable destinations

As the first nation in the world, Norway has implemented a system where destinations can be environmental certified at a national level. But Norwegian sustainability goes beyond systems and certifications.

Enjoying nature and the outdoors is considered a national pastime, and this is reflected in the people´s attitude towards conservation and use of the wilderness. As of August 2013 no less than 7 percent of mainland Norway is made up of 37 national parks, and all told almost 17persent of mainland Norway consists of protected areas in one form or another, not counting Svalbard. This is in accordance with the goals set by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Access to protected areas is for the most part still allowed, however, due to Norway´s right of access-law that gives everyone the right of free access in the countryside.

Environmental certifications in Norway
Much of the tourism industry in Norway conforms to certificates and standards of environmentally friendly conduct. These ensure that strict rules and regulations in pollution, recycling and energy use are followed, and make it easier for customers to choose to travel in an sustainable way. The green hotels and activities are qualified as environmentally friendly and have earned a certificate. They meet strict ecological and performance criteria within categories as waste, water, energy, purchase, chemicals and more. The green certifications are voluntary arrangements that include an independent control.

The certificate is the traveller’s guarantee for taking part in reducing impact on the environment through a more sustainable holiday at sustainable destinations.

The main green certifications travellers should look out for in Norway are:

The eco-label Nordic Swan
The certification is operated by the Foundation for Eco-labelling. This Nordic scheme provides the enterprises with strict, exact and high level environmental criteria within waste, water, energy and supplier chain. All criteria have to be met before certification is reached. The criteria are continuously improved. More information on ecolabel Nordic Swan.

Eco-Lighthouse
The certification is a national scheme operated by the Eco-Lighthouse Foundation. A large amount of enterprises throughout the country are certified. Eco-Lighthouse provides both an environmental managing system and concrete actions for better environmental performance. Certificate is renewed after three years. More information on Eco-Lighthouse.

ISO 14001
This is an international standard for environmental management. In Norway the standard is owned by Standard Norway. Six Norwegian companies are accredited to certify enterprises according to ISO 14001. This scheme provides the enterprise with a high quality environmental managing system for organizational performance on the environment. It is this management system that is certified. More information on ISO 14001.

Ecotourism Norway
This is a national scheme operated by Innovation Norway that holds a high international level in ecotourism. The certified enterprise has to meet 100 strict criterias on environmental performance, host-role, local community integration and purchasing. Certificate renewed every three years if criteria and improvements are approved. More information on Ecotourism Norway.

Sustainable Destination
With new label Sustainable Destination, Norway takes a lead in the international efforts to promote sustainability in tourism and destination development. In order for a destination itself to achieve certification as sustainable a broader set of criteria must be met. A consistent effort to plan for sustainable tourism and support and strengthen environmental programs over time is required, as well as working to preserve the destination’s history, character and nature. In addition, certification places demands on the development of the destination’s businesses and society following principles of sustainability.

The tourism providers and local authorities have to cooperate to have a destination certified, and so far four destinations in Norway have achieved the label “Sustainable destination”:

Røros in Trøndelag
In 2012, Destination Røros received the prestigious Tourism for Tomorrow Award for Destination Stewardship at the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Awards celebration in Tokyo. The awards are among the highest accolades in the global travel and tourism industry, giving international recognition to best practice examples of sustainable tourism in action.

Destination Røros was also the overall winner of the Virgin Holidays Responsible Travel award in 2011. The jury commented: “This former mining town in Norway may have been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980, but it’s been preserving traditions as a tourist destination for over 85 years. Attracting over one million visitors each year, the town of just 3,700 inhabitants maintains its sense of place through a ‘local knowledge’ programme run for over 90 businesses, local food safaris and much more.” Read more about Røros.

Lærdal by the Sognefjord
The Norwegian fjord landscape is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Lærdal features dramatic mountain tops and lush, green surroundings that reveal a lively agriculture industry.

Borgund Stave Church – the best-preserved stave church in Norway, dating back to 1180 – is found in Lærdal, as is Norsk Villakssenter (the Norwegian Wild Salmon Centre). The Gamle Lærdalsøyri Village is beautifully preserved, and is testament to the area’s commitment to sustainability.

In January 2014 a fire struck Lærdal, and though serious this has not affected any of the attractions in the area, and all tourist offices, businesses and operators are conducting business as usual. Read more about Lærdal.

Trysil in Eastern Norway
Trysil is one of the most varied areas in Norway. From mountains to forests, rivers to lakes, and from summer to winter, Trysil can offer sustainable activities for almost everybody. In summer, white-water rafting, hiking, fishing and various wildlife safaris are sustainable activities that may appeal to many visitors. In the winter season there are activities like sleigh rides, skiing and ice fishing. Trysil is a prime area of Norwegian wilderness and has some of the country’s largest populations of such wild animals as beaver, bear, wolf, lynx, wolverine, golden eagle, moose and deer. Read more about Trysil.

The Vega Islands
The Vega Archipelago in the county of Nordland consists of more than 6,000 islands, reefs and skerries. Many bird watchers make their way there, and not without reason: The area is full of eider ducks and 210 other species of birds, including sea eagles and various ducks, cormorants and geese. The Vega islands were made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. According to the jury, “The Vega archipelago reflects the way generations of fishermen/farmers have, over the past 1500 years, maintained a sustainable living in an inhospitable seascape near the Arctic Circle, based on the now unique practice of eider down harvesting, and it also celebrate the contribution made by women to the eider down process.”Read more about the Vega Islands.

Waste recycling

Over 95 percent of all recycble plastic bottles sold in Norway today are recycled. When buying almost any bottle with potable contents, you pay a small fee, which is refunded when the bottle is returned to any grocery shop or supermarket. Most municipalities in Norway also recycle glass, metals, paper and cardboard, as well as plastics. In Oslo and other major cities, food waste is collected and used to make bio-diesel for buses, whereas elsewhere in Norway it is often composted privately or used to make animal feed. Methane from landfills is also sometimes burned to generate heat for homes in the surrounding area, saving energy and reducing pollution in the cities.

Transportation and power
Between cities in Norway, the most environmentally friendly means of transport is the train. Most trains in Norway run on electricity and are equipped with generators that regenerate power on downhill stretches and feeds it back into the system, making it available to other trains.

Due to an abundance of inland water, Norway is rich in hydroelectric power, which constitutes around 98 percent of the electricity used nationwide. This, along with powerful incentives like waived or reduced tax and fees, has made electrically powered cars more popular in Norway than anywhere else in the world. Many of the larger cities in Norway can also offer electric public transportation locally. In Bergen, electric buses have been part of the city scene for generations, and in recent years an electric metro has also been built and put to use. The numerous trams- and metro lines are all electric in Oslo, and many of the city’s buses are running on low-emission natural gas or hydrogen fuel cells which emit only water.

Much of Norway is sparsely populated and maintains a well-developed network of public transport between smaller municipalities and settlements, mainly in the form of buses, trains and ferries.

Local food
Making the most of what is available without depleting natural resources is reflected in Norwegian food traditions. Many Norwegians catch their own seafood and some also hunt wild game along with picking berries, growing apples or running small farms. This gives many local restaurants around the country easy access to first-class ingredients for use in their kitchens, making quality control easier and more reliable. Restaurants and other eateries making Norwegian food from scratch using local ingredients can be found through the Norwegian Foodprints service.

Hotels
Most hotels and resorts in Norway are making efforts to control energy and water consumption, as well as waste generation and recycling. In-room energy-saving devices such as automatic light switches, low-flush toilets, wash basins with sensors, as well as energy efficient dishwashers and washing machines and low dosing and eco-labelled chemicals for cleaning and washing up are now common. In many hotels bed linen and towels are no longer changed daily unless specifically requested by guests. Many hotels feature organic products on their menus. For example, Scandic Hotels have decided to say no to genetically modified (GM) foods and serve organic breakfast and fair trade coffee.

Rica hotels feature local food specialties in several of their hotels, to showcase both the unique gastronomic identity of each region and the diversity of Norwegian cuisine. This also contributes to the development and growth of small-scale food producers

Many operators in Norway offer safe, nature-based activities such as dog-sledding, hiking, kayaking, as well as bird watching and wildlife safaris. Read more about Ecotourism providers in Norway.

Facts about sustainable tourism in Norway
Originally Norway´s right of access-law was an age-old tradition, but has since been set down in law. Even today, it is still based on a long-term respect for nature and wilderness that is prevalent in Norway.

Hanen.no provides an overview of local agro-tourism gems, with its listings of eateries, accommodation and activities in rural Norway. For an overview of places of special significance to Norwegian cultural and historical heritage, see Olavsrosa (The St. Olav’s Rose).

Oslo´s Øya Festival is an environmentally friendly festival, with 100% organic food and green ethics

Launched in 2013, Harvest Web Magazine publishes stories, knowledge, interviews and reflections on nature and human relationship with the wilderness, and an English version of Harvest has been available since spring 2014. See Harvest.as (only in Norwegian)

DNT, the Norwegian Trekking Association, has a network of 460 cabins throughout Norway, 400 of which offer overnight accommodation. Most of these cabins are located in mountain areas, and boast great scenery and is representative of the Norwegian sustainable lifestyle.

Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss (1912 – 2009), coined the term Deep Ecology and was an important intellectual and inspirational figure within the environmental movement of the late twentieth century.

Source: Visit Norway

Cabin at Western Swedish Coast

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November 11, 2014

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A cabin has far more meaning than just a building when both its owners and the designer have deep connections to its location.

Stockholm architect Mat Fahlander and his client are lifelong friends, and they played together as children on this parcel of land, which has been in the client’s family since the 1940s. That kind of intimacy with a place also gives a unique perspective on how to fit a structure into it.

Fahlander chose a simple box shape for both the main summer house and its guest satellite, floating them above the granite shortline of this rugged stretch of western Swedish coast, in order to retain a strong sense of the natural environment. This is enhanced by a huge glass facade on this cabin at Western Swedish coast, which includes a 16-foot sliding door and reminds that the sea is your front yard.

Mindful of the storms that batter this coast, Fahlander wrapped the shelter in corrugated cement boards and topped it with corrugated tin, curved as a reflection of the many boulders that stud the shore. Total space is about 900 square feet, half that in the large communal area that faces the Skagerak Straight, half in three small bedrooms in the back.

All Photos by Åke E:son Lindman/Otto

Other articles that may be of interest:
Cardboard Cabin in Gothenburg
Norwegian Ski Holidays
Where is this?

In the Footsteps of Henrik Ibsen

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November 10, 2014

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Heard of Henrik Ibsen? The famous Norwegian dramatist of plays like The Wild Duck, Peer Gynt and A Doll’s House?

Well, listen up…

Ibsen spent his last 11 years and wrote his two last plays in Oslo.

The apartment is now restored to its original splendor with authentic interior and Ibsen’s furniture. The museum’s visitor center features an exhibit on Ibsen’s life and writing.

So if you’re in Oslo, we HIGHLY recommend a visit to these must-see Oslo attractions:

1. Visit the Ibsen museum on Henrik Ibsensgate 26, Take bus or tram to Slottsparken, or enjoy a 5 min. walk from the National Theatre.

2. Watch Peer Gynt with new music by the Estonian composer Jüri Reinvere in the Norwegian Ballet and Opera House. Nine productions in the period November 29 to January 17. Performed in Norwegian with English subtitles.
Pop into the fine dining opera restaurant, Argent, for understated elegance and refinement.

3. Walking in the footsteps of Henrik Ibsen
Ibsen had his regular morning trips in the period 1895 to 1906 from his residence in Arbinsgate 1 to the Grand Café!
He was one of the biggest tourist attractions in Christiania, the name of Oslo at that time. Precise twelve o’clock he climbed up the steep stairs that led into his regular café where he was expecting his daily snaps and tankard of beer. What did he see on his way?

The starting point
Henrik Ibsen lived with his wife Suzannah in Arbinsgate 1. They moved into the apartment on the corner of Arbinsgate and Drammensveien (now Henrik Ibsens gate) autumn 1895, shortly after the apartment building was completed. The fashionable building had a total of four floors plus attic floor and basement floor.

When Ibsen left the city to live in Italy in 1864, Drammensveien was a rural area where the city’s distinguished citizens had their loops. Gradually a suburb emerged on what used to be looped and open spaces.

On the right side Ibsen had now a view to their previous residence in Victoria terrace – then the largest and finest tenement complex in Christiania.

From Victoria Terrace Ibsen tilted towards the University Square and the main street Karl Johans gate. He was then in the city’s most distinctive waterfront district, and it was all about to see and being seen. These days there were only persons belonging to the city’s bourgeoisie and the upper social strata that were seen in this area.

The street in front of the University
This stretch of Karl Johansgate could be an ordeal to pass during spring and autumn. There were only a pavement of stone, gravel and crushed stone and nothing to limit the noise of hooves and carriage-wheels. It’s hard to imagine Henrik Ibsen, impeccably dressed, with walking stick and top hat, coming wading in the mud ocean on a rainy day.

Ibsen was a punctual man. Every day he stopped by the clock that still hangs in the window of the university building. He fished up his own watch from his pocket to make sure it showed on time and to check that he was on track. The clock in the window of the principal’s meeting-room is the reason the building is nicknamed ‘Urbygningen’. (Ur is watch in Norwegian, hence the Watch-building).

After passing the University, Ibsen came to Karl Johans gate 45. This was a building owned by state surveyor Christian H. Grosch. The stately corner tower with a spire made the building clearly visible in the street scene.

Maybe sometimes Ibsen met the author Bjornstjerne Bjornson in this area. Westend Hotel, which was Bjornson’s regular haunt during his visits to the capital, was located in this building.

In Karl Johansgate 43, you will find the Tanum bookstore just as in 1900 (a little modernized though). Johan Grundt Tanum took over the venue from Aschehougs bookstore that year, and has been there ever since.

We can envision that Ibsen slowed slightly as he passed the display windows of the store to see if there were any fresh releases in the windows. If he found something interesting, maybe he stopped for a moment, before continuing his journey on the way to the Grand Café.

Karl Johansgate was (and is) the city’s parade street, and here were fashionable and magnificent buildings in a row. But the very finest was number 37; cavalry captain Thorvald Meyer’s residence, built after a fire in 1867. At number 33 Oluf Lorentzen had recently opened his grocery store (today bars and eateries have replaced the store).

After passing the Lorentzen shop with a wide selection of groceries, Ibsen stood at the foot of the stairs that led him to his regular café.

Reaching his goal
Why did Ibsen choose just Grand Café as his regular cafe? Was he ever tempted to surprise someone by paying one of the other of the city’s cafes a morning visit? The city had a wide variety of them. Engebret cafe was known as the city’s artists’ café and was also one of the venues for the Chistiania Bohemia. It was found in the Christiania Theater on the Bank Place. It is still a very popular restaurant.

A little further up the Karl Johans gate, at no. 25, we find the Tostrup Building which also had a café at that time and until quite recently. But as far as we know, Grand was the only target of Ibsen’s walks. Of all the city’s cafes this was the most famous.

Here frequented painters, musicians, actors, writers and journalists. This was the haunt of personalities who liked to challenge the city’s conservative regime. The large windows in the cafe made the visitors clearly visible from the street. This was the place to see and be seen.

Guests who frequented here wanted to be a part of the city’s public. The regularity of Ibsen’s café visits built up an expectation that he would show up. Tourists visited the Grand solely to get a glimpse of the great writer.

So give the three attractions a try!

Text and photos: Tor Kjolberg

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