Fun 1DA

Scandinavian design is known for its clear forms, durability and careful craftsmanship. Do students from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland still design in accordance with these principles today? Juliane Grützner asked some of them.

There is a noticeably large number of women in design in Scandinavia. From Nanna Ditzel to Front Design, female designers have always played an important role in Nordic countries. Does this have something to do with design style? Or is it quite simply a question of equality?

Creativity, quality and economic viability can all be associated with the term design. The Scandinavian governments have taken advantage of this and are investing in promoting both the discipline and their own image.

Sometimes they use original plan, other times they rely on an aged furniture item – Erling and Egon Petersen, two brothers from Ormslev, Denmark go to endless lengths in their quest to breathe new life into an original design from the previous century.

Be it park benches, conference tables or outdoor chairs – there's always an additional use to Thomas Bernstrand's designs, even though they stand in the tradition of classic Scandinavian design.

In the west of Munich, Stenger2 Architekten and the interior experts at Arnold/Werner are transforming the former Aubing thermal power station into a monumental cultural meeting place complete with bat biotope. It is to go by the name of Bergson Kunstkraftwerk.

The imm Cologne is swiftly getting back on an even keel. And how are designers and manufacturers making use of the opportunity? A tour of the trade fair shows that they often resorted to the tried-and-true, reanimating and dressing it up for contemporary use. Even Konstantin Grcic opted for a tongue-in-cheek approach to a design classic.