The study tour to Sweden and Finland visits furniture factories, showrooms, and museums that exhibit a combination of aesthetics and fabrication and inform you design process. You will also see contemporary and older architecture where furniture is integrated with the interior design. Furthermore, the tour gives an impression of Scandinavian history, geography, and culture. The sites on tour promote sensory experience, allowing you to develop critical observation skills through diagrammatic and representational analysis.
During the study tour, you are required to sketch in their journals and are expected to develop initial concepts for your chair design. In your sketchbooks, you will create physical and conceptual expressions of furniture seen on tour. The manufacturing process and designers encountered on tour are also points of inspiration.
Tour Objectives
- Learn about methods of designing and manufacturing furniture
- Study contemporary and traditional Scandinavian design, interiors, and architecture
- Develop analytical sketching and visual note-taking skills for design purposes
Possible Activities
- Visiting furniture showrooms and exhibits: Asplund, Nordiska Galleriet, Svenskt Tenn, Malmsten, Design Torget, Källemo
- Touring furniture manufacturers, IKEA and Korhonen
- Studying the integration of furniture and architecture in Paimio Sanatorium, Hvitträsk, Aalto Studio, Otaniemi Auditorium, and Stadsbiblioteket