original habitek works - Huippu / Design / Management

Press release, September 2009
Habitare09 fair, Ahead! design area
Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre, from 9 to 13 Sep 2009
Hall 5, stand 5A8
*original
habitek
works
The Finnish furniture brand Habitek presents on its white deck an ample selection of the Morris table in new colours,
the suspended Jiella chair and the Pumpa lampshade.
Focussed on export, Habitek has been noted as far as Asia and Northern America. The Morris table in particular has
gained favour in international media as well as among collectors and friends of design. In 2005 Habitek introduced
the first prototypes of Morris at Habitare. Now it returns to Helsinki Fair Centre to face a large public.
Designers Kirsi Gullichsen and Samuli Naamanka are available for the press at the stand 5A8 as follows:
Wednesday, 9 September, from 10am until 12am (Gullichsen ja Naamanka) and 2pm-3.30pm (Naamanka)
Thursday, 10 September, from 10am until 12 am (Gullichsen)
The Morris table
Designed by Kirsi Gullichsen, Morris is a small, asymmetrically rounded table. The free “puddle” form of the top is
available in five alternative shapes and sizes. The surface material is oiled oak veneer or either matt or glossy
laminate. The table is made in several colours, of which apple green, yellow, pale blue, plum and orange make their
first glossy appearance at Habitare. The legs are made of oil waxed solid oak. Varying in thickness, they harmonise
with the free form of the top.
The Morris table can be used as a grouped set or as an independent piece at home or in the office. Thanks to its
organic and at the same time moderate form it suits well with many different styles and environments.
Morris was inspired by and named after Gullichsenʼs dachshund. The dogʼs round but vigorous habitus produced
forms that the designer aimed to transfer to the little table.
The criteria included easy pass and a beautiful, forest-like space for the dog under the table. When several tables are
set side by side, a beautiful asymmetric space forms below them – the dachshundʼs own forest.
Jiella – a suspended chair
Samuli Naamanka is the first visiting designer in the Habitek collection. His spherical Jiella, designed in 2008, is a
suspended wooden chair, a modernised version of the traditional rattan hanging chair. The Jiella chair is like open
arms. Its round, deep form offers a homely resting place.
Jiella is constructed of supple strips, which are cut from form pressed plywood and pulled together at both ends.
When suspended, the chair opens up like a fan. The core of the veneer is birch, the surface ash.
The Sámi word ʻjiellaʼ means air or airy.
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Press release, September 2009
The Jiella package is flat and easy to transport. It includes the ready assembled frame, leather seat, hanging
equipment and simple instructions for installation.
The Pumpa lampshade
Pumpa is a lightweight shade of ash designed for a pendant lamp. Inspired by waste veneer, on the drawing board of
the designer it transformed into a spherical shade that shows the most beautiful qualities of thin wood – transparency
and pliability.
Gullichsen is intrigued by the use of wood and paper, and veneer provides a material like unprocessed paper. It is
stubborn but sensitive. The form of the shade utilises the inherent qualities of veneer: the strip bends into a beautiful
curve and is locked by means of thin steel wire. The lightness of veneer allows the large size of the shade: its
diameter is 86 cm, height 60 cm, weight appr. 0,5 kg.
Besides ash, Pumpa is available in birch, Oregon pine and teak. The structural parts are steel. Pumpa was designed
in 2008.
The Pumpa shade has been named on the basis of its form, which resembles a large pumpkin.
*original habitek works
The Habitek project, launched spontaneously by architect Kirsi Gullichsen and cabinet maker Sakari Paananen,
showcased its first set of furniture at the Habitare Fair in 2003. Soon a collection emerged with pieces like the Stripe
set of cupboards, the Samarkand bookcase system and the Jono bench system. From the very beginning, Habitek
has aimed for export market, and it believes in the international demand of Finnish wood skills and lucid Nordic forms.
Kirsi Gullichsen (born 1964)
Kirsi Gullichsen, one of the two founders of Habitek, has worked full time in her own office, ARX Architects, from
2001. She has received several prizes in international architecture competitions, and she has been awarded prizes
and nominated candidate in e.g. the European Steel Award and the Mies van der Rohe Prize for European
Architecture. Her designs have also been acknowledged by the juries of the Forum Aid Prize and the Fennia Prize
2007 competition.
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Press release, September 2009
Gullichsenʼs work is always based on interaction with space and pursues timelessness. In furniture design she
utilizes the geometry and systematics of architecture, aiming at adaptable systems instead of individual products.
Samuli Naamanka (born 1969)
Interior architect Samuli Naamanka is known as a versatile designer. His work combines carefully deliberated forms
and creative technical innovations. In addition to designing products and interiors, he has specialised in
environmental design and done pioneering work especially in the design of concrete products.
Samuli Naamanka received the Facade Achievement Prize of the Finnish Facade Association in 2004 for his work on
the development of graphic concrete. In 2005 the Finnish Association of Interior Architects SIO awarded him The
Furniture Designer of the Year Prize, and in 2008 he received the Nordic Design Prize at the Stockholm Furniture
Fair.
Sakari Paananen (born 1964)
Sakari Paananen is the founder of the joinerʼs workshop Punavuoren Puuhevonen (the wooden horse of Punavuori).
The firm, situated in Helsinkiʼs Pitäjänmäki, is one of the leading Finnish manufacturers of high-quality joinery work. In
recent years it has established itself as a collaborator of Finlandʼs top designers and architects and has participated
in numerous product development projects. Design-conscious companies and private clients also value
Puuhevonenʼs customised work, first-class materials and individual service.
www.habitek.fi/
More information and image requests:
Huippu Design Management Oy
Laura Sarvilinna
Puh. 09-679 043
communications@huippu.fi
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