Stockholm-based Beckmans College of Design presents Workform, a design collaboration between final-year Product Design students and three Swedish furniture companies, Edsbyn, SAVO and Svensson & Linnér. Throughout the year, students collaborate with professional companies to produce a piece of furniture, navigating real-world experiences like production timelines and manufacturing concerns. All based along a theme, this year it was sitting – inclusive, flexible, active, resting, and pausing. Pulse, Hub, JUUNI, and Heed all debuted at Stockholm Design Week, adding invaluable insight from the next generation of designers.
Pulse – Design by Anna Nyman, Axel Peters, and Matarena Sjöberg in collaboration with Svensson & Linnér
The Pulse chair offers three seat heights, allowing for children, adults, and older folks to sit in public with ease. Usually left out of the conversation of public design, kids and the elderly deserve consideration as well. This is an opportunity to promote conversation and community between groups that might not traditionally interact. As public art is steadily unprioritized, Pulse responds like a lifeline, a heartbeat breathing life into spaces previously unconsidered.
Hub – Design by Alva Jonasdotter, Love Persson, and Sara Lagerin in collaboration with Edsbyn
Hub provides a warm, home-like feeling, in any space they happen to live. Utilizing the same base in two heights, this system employs multiple different cushion designs, adding to the multifunctional options for any interior. Easily adaptable, Hub creates a cohesive feeling, transitioning from office to home with ease.
JUUNI – Design by August Bällgren, Emelie Svensson, and Ellen Nilsson in collaboration with SAVO
JUUNI allows us to perch, with a slight incline and footrest perfect for those half-resting, half-active moments. In two smart colorways, a pop of rusty orange delineates the relatively elegant legs, in keeping with its refined, minimal profile. Activating the core by nature of the seat, this chair reminds us to stay focused, perfect for a school or office.
Heed – Design by Siri Lövén, Karin Forsberg, and Victoria Johansson in collaboration with SAVO
Heed is a piece of furniture that offers both active and passive seating positions, working between ergonomic considerations and energy levels – both elegant and functional. Designed to encourage breaks throughout the day, the chair works for workplace or home office situations.
With a special focus on producing with local materials and working with students on all aspects of the design process, Workform helps create lasting relationships and experiences that will prepare students for life after graduation. Industry experience is invaluable in how you can help in multiple aspects of the design process, ensuring easier employment opportunities in the future. As sectors diversify, certain aspects of traditional design education must respond in turn, offering a more comprehensive view of the future of furniture.
To learn more about the Workform exhibition, visit beckmans.se.
Photography by Emilian Jenrich.
