Collection by Miyoko Ohtake
Architectmade
In 2005, Danish company Architectmade launched with the goal of bringing to light products designed by architects. The company has since begun producing a handful of items from designers of the likes of Poul Kjærholm, Jørn Utzon, Finn Johl, and Hans Bølling, working with the artists, their families, or their foundations to secure the rights to issue or reissue the designs. Here we take a tour through Architectmade's collection.
The Optiminist and Pessimist are playful characters designed by architect Hans Bølling. Bølling was born in 1931 in Denmark and later graduated as an architect from the Royal Danish Art Academy. These 4.5-inch-tall, teak toys are meant to remind us about the necessary balance of both characteristics—but more than anything they are just too adorable not to enjoy.
Architect Finn Juhl designed predominantly in the 1940s and 50s and created the TurningTray in 1956 to match the furniture in his house. The curvature of the teak eliminates the need for handles and the two sides—one laminated in black and the other in either red, white, light green, or pale blue—let it transition from day to evening use.
Jørn Utzon was most famous for designing the Sydney Opera House but also created a number of product designs. Architectmade discovered the 1949 drawings for these glasses, named Spring, in museum archives in Denmark. The glasses are stackable and can also be tipped on their side for cognac. When one drinks from them, the experience is meant to replicate that of drinking from a spring, hence the name.