The Monocle Minute
On Design

This week’s dispatch is shooting for the stars as we inspect the cutlery drawer in a Stanley Kubrick sci-fi classic and sit down with the Canadian executive who specialises in sending design brands into the stratosphere. Coming back down to Earth, we’ll drop in on Bratislava’s newest skatepark (pictured) and consider the changing perceptions of pine. Here to set us off, Petri Burtsoff looks back to the modernists to build a better future.

People, myself included, have mixed views about modernist architecture. But if there’s one thing that today’s architects and city planners should learn from the modernists, it’s optimism – the idealistic belief that designers have a role to play in shaping a better future for society. Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, one of the participants at this year’s Spirit of Paimio Conference (which wrapped up last week), put it best when he said, “Technology is the answer but what is the question?” In short, Ingels acknowledged that we need to lean into industrial advances without turning a blind eye to the need for spaces that serve people. And yet, many contemporary architects think too narrowly about the building (yes, I know, that’s their job) and not broadly enough about architecture as a discipline that should make our lives better – the “building art” as Alvar Aalto called it.

Spirit of Paimio, held in the small Finnish town that gives the conference its name, is now in its second edition. This year it sought to inject some of that modernist ethos into today’s world. The event took place at Alvar and Aino Aalto’s 1933 Paimio Sanatorium, a monumental building that Aalto himself called a “medical instrument”. In the modernist spirit, Aalto believed that architecture and design had the potential to heal. Over two days, attendees heard from the likes of Ersilia Vaudo from the European Space Agency, whose talk about building on the moon and Mars made me think about the innate optimism of space exploration and how architecture is once again called upon to build utopias.

Speaking of utopias, Ingels presented his ambitious plans for the Gelephu Mindfulness City in Bhutan, a city that is fully carbon-neutral and uses design and architecture to maximise the happiness of its inhabitants. Architect Loreta Castro Reguera spoke about how innovative architecture has engaged disadvantaged communities in her native Mexico.

But one thing was missing. Most of architecture inhabits the broad space between monumental projects, such as developing cities from scratch or colonising the frontiers of space, and unit-level projects such as single houses. The latter is where most of us live. Looking at how dreary and unimaginative much of today’s urban residential architecture is, we should look back at the modernists, not necessarily for stylistic cues but for daring to dream big. With more than four billion people now living in urban areas, a better quality of life here on Earth requires us to turn our attention away from outer space and towards our own spaces – life on Mars can wait.

Petri Burtsoff is Monocle’s Helsinki correspondent. For more news and analysis, subscribeto Monocle today.

Danish furniture brand Frama has unveiled its first wine bar and eatery, Bar Vitrine, in the heart of Copenhagen. As the name suggests, the venue is reminiscent of a glass display case, thanks to its floor-to-ceiling windows. “We loved the distinctiveness of the space, which doesn’t have a typical Copenhagen look,” says Niels Strøyer Christophersen, Frama’s founder.

The welcoming interior features a mix of Frama furniture, including its signature 01 chairs and newly introduced foldable designs, along with bespoke pieces. At the centre of the bar is a custom communal table made from birch, accompanied by low surfaces along the windows. The bar offers a selection of minimal-intervention wines. Daily dishes are crafted by former Noma chef Dhriti Arora, drawing on her Indian heritage. “The idea was to design a space that fosters interaction through good food and wine,” says Christophersen. Mission accomplished.
barvitrine.dk; framacph.com

When architect Matúš Vallo was elected mayor of Bratislava in 2018, he had a “blueprint” for the city that outlined the landmarks that needed a revamp. On the list was the Most SNP Bridge – or rather, its cavernous underbelly. A plan was hatched to turn the riverbank area where the bridge crosses the Danube into an Olympic-quality skatepark and recreation area, with Czechia-based U/U Studio tasked with the pep-up.

“Vallo told us that the city was missing spots for outdoor exercise,” says Martin Hrouda, an architect who runs U/U Studio alongside Jiří Kotal. “The area under the bridge was a brownfield site but it had so many advantages.” However, the protected status of the bridge posed problems to the flow that a skatepark requires. “It was difficult but we incorporated the bridge’s pillars in our design,” says Kotal. As well as attracting skaters, the development has brightened up what was once a grey zone of neglect. It also underlines the fact that Vallo, now into his second tenure, might just be onto something with his blueprint. uustudio.cz

Daniel Lalonde’s CV makes for impressive reading. The Canadian-born businessman spent 10 years in executive positions at LVMH before stints at Ralph Lauren and leading French multibrand group SMCP, where revenues surpassed €1bn. In 2021 he took his experience in the luxury-fashion sector into high-end design, taking the reins at Design Holding, a group whose portfolio of brands includes Flos, B&B Italia, Louis Poulsen, Maxalto, Azucena, Arclinea, Fendi Casa, Audo Copenhagen and Lumens. In 2023, the nine brands generated a total of €898.6m in revenue and this year rebranded as Flos B&B Italia Group.

Tell us about the development of Flos B&B Italia Group.
We are the first group to consolidate world-class design brands and provide them all with a platform for international growth. We’re only at the beginning of developing this space but it is closely linked to luxury and fashion. We have a lot of customers in common. They might be people with a Birkin bag, Cartier watch and pair of Louboutins, as well as a sofa by B&B Italia and an Arco lamp from Flos.

Why is your rebrand significant?
We wanted to anchor our name to the most globally renowned brands in our portfolio. We also wanted to highlight that we are a group. We are an ecosystem of iconic brands that complement each other and share a common ethos, focused on beauty, craftsmanship, quality and sustainability. Each of them is fiercely independent, with its own strong identity.

How do you introduce sustainable practices into your business without being accused of greenwashing?
Sustainability should be part of every brand’s story but not the whole story. It’s crucial from a business point of view as there is no official industry definition of sustainable furniture. We had our teams come up with a number of criteria so we can confidently say that a piece meets the definition. Perhaps the most important thing that we do is to create products that last a lifetime. This is very important to us. Much like luxury fashion houses, we produce most of what we sell because if we outsourced everything, we would have no control over its quality. It’s fundamental to what we do.

For more from design industry experts, including Daniel Lalonde, tune in to‘Monocle on Design’or pick up a copy ofMonocle magazine.

The name Arne Jacobsen generally evokes images of wood-panelled rooms and elegant Scandinavian armchairs, not interplanetary travel. But those who paid very close attention to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey might have noticed that the spaceship in the 1968 sci-fi masterpiece was kitted out with cutlery by the Danish designer. In the film, astronauts scoop up puréed dinners with these streamlined utensils, which Jacobsen had designed in 1957.

Originally produced by Danish company Anton Michelsen, this set pioneered the use of stainless steel in cutlery, instead of the customary silver. But it was the shape, rather than the material, that caused a stir: the fork’s short tines and the spoon’s shallow depth might have looked futuristic but, according to some, made it tricky to eat anything other than freeze-dried mash. Still, the set has remained popular and is now in production with Georg Jensen. Sadly, though, its original sleek, rounded-metal packaging has been replaced with a regular cardboard box. A limited edition of Jacobsen’s design in its original container would make an ideal gift for an eagle-eyed Kubrick fan – or any lover of Danish design.

Those familiar with Switzerland’s mountainous landscape will also recognise the country’s affinity for one material in particular: concrete. The sturdy grey matter can be found everywhere, from city streets to the foundations of alpine chalets. It also gives its name to a Swiss avant-garde art movement that took its cues from graphic design and architecture: the Zurich Concretists. In Circle! Square! Progress! Zurich’s Concrete Avant-Garde, from Swiss publishers Scheidegger & Spiess, the movement’s story is told from its Bauhaus roots to the debates around beauty of form in the 1970s.

Written by Zurich-based writer and director of documentaries Thomas Haemmerli and Brigitte Ulmer, a scholar based between Zürich and London, the book compiles graphic design, colour theory and art from the movement. Circle! Square! Progress! also tells the story of the Zurich Concretists’ key members, including Max Bill, Camille Graeser, Verena Loewensberg and Richard Paul Lohse. Ultimately, the colourful book is a testament to a city and a built environment’s potential to foster a particular perspective – and how art, design and architecture often come intertwined.
scheidegger-spiess.ch

Pine has long been seen as a cheap wood but people’s perceptions are changing – and, perhaps unsurprisingly, Finns are leading the charge. Brands such as Vaarnii are shifting the narrative by using pine to make covetable chairs, tables and stools in bold forms inspired by mid-century pieces. And this resurgence is also helping to turn collectors’ attention to original pine furniture from the 1960s and 1970s. Case in point: this dining chair by Ilmari Tapiovaara.

The Finnish designer created the sculptural piece for furniture manufacturer Laukaan Puu in the 1960s. Thanks to its sturdy structure, we can see ourselves elegantly lingering in it at the dinner table long after dessert. And its sleek silhouette means that the chair could easily slot in to a compact apartment or cosy alpine chalet. We found this particular piece through London-based furniture dealer Chase & Sorensen, our go-to specialists for covetable 20th-century Scandinavian design in the UK capital.
chaseandsorensen.com

For more unexpected design ideas, pick up a copy of Monocle’sOctober issue, which has a feature dedicated to things you might have missed – you never know what form inspiration might take.