Design DNA
Artek: the pioneer of plywood furniture
What do you get if you cross art with technology? It’s not a trick question, the answer is Artek – literally. A portmanteau of the words art and technology, it couldn’t be a better moniker for the Finnish company founded in 1935 by four young visionaries: architects Alvar and Aino Aalto, art collector and artist Maire Gullichsen and critic and writer Nils-Gustav Hahl.
Influenced by the radical teachings of the Bauhaus, which declared that art, design and technology should work holistically rather than be treated as separate disciplines, the quartet had grand ambitions that stretched far beyond the purely commercial (and far beyond Finland for that matter). Their goal was to sell Alvar Aalto’s furniture and ‘promote a modern culture of living by exhibitions and other educational means’. They even drafted a manifesto detailing their mission, with headings including Modern Art, Industry, Interior Design and Propaganda.
Alvar had been experimenting with laminated wood (then a relatively new material) since the late 1920s, bending it into sinuous curves and sculptural forms. By 1932, he had created the ‘Paimio’ chair for the tuberculosis sanatorium in Paimio, Finland, swiftly followed by the nowiconic ‘Stool 60’ in 1933. His fascination for wood continued to be a central theme once Artek was established, delving further into the possibilities of pressed plywood as he sought to combine its warm, tactile qualities with a progressivist, modernist aesthetic. Devising manufacturing methods that were suited to mass production and export was an important shaping factor for the brand’s style, leading to the development of a modular system of standardised components, including the ‘L-leg’. Originally designed for ‘Stool 60’, it soon became an integral element of the collection and was used in more than 50 different products spanning both seating and tables.
Since 1935, over one and a half million Artek stools alone have been sold worldwide, and the popularity of the brand’s products shows no signs of abating. Here, we chart the company’s story, from revolutionary beginnings to reinventing its classics (artek.fi).