Elementa's stand at the Norwegian Presence Exhibition in Zona Tortona, Milan 2018. Photo by Torjus Berglid
On this year's Milan Exhiition Elementa introduced UT - a series of objects that seek to explore new ways to interface nature. In collaboration with known and less known designers and artists the aim is to follow the Scandinavian Design tradition onto some less travelled paths.
Ki Light - by Hallgeir Homstvedt
The Ki is a minimal interior lamp doubling as a plant light that will keep your plants happy during winter and in less enlightened corners of the house. The tiltable shade is magnetic, allowing for easy and elegant height adjustment. Made with plants in mind, the Ki also works as a standalone table lamp. The full spectre LED light that stimulates photosynthesis, is also comfortable for human eyes.
Designed by Hallgeir Homstvedt, the Ki is available with a cast iron base or a spear that you can plunge directly into the soil of a flowerpot, using the planter itself as a base for the lamp. As the light is reflected by the leaves of the plants, the division between plant and the lamp is blurred, producing a new type of object: a plant-light .
The Ur Ceremonial Water Cans - by Kneip
In our busy everyday life it can be easy to fall into regarding the care of our home plants as yet another task on our to-do list to be executed. The thought behind the Ur Watercan is to elevate the activity of sharing water with plants into a ritual, to be done with love and mindfulness.
The designers behind the project is Norwegian arts and crafts duo Kneip (Stian Korntvedt Ruud and Jørgen Platou Willumsen). The Ur cans are handmade, precisely executed in stainless steel - and deliberately made a bit heavy. The design shows inspiration both from coffee and tea culture and from industrial modernism - achieving a refined balancing of roughness and delicacy.
Klorofyll Planter System by Anderssen & Voll
The Klorofyll Planter System is designed to provide a complete toolkit for interior design with plants. With a mix of both conventional sized flowerpots and a series of large scale planters supported by metal stands, the system makes it possible to build rich interior landscapes of greenery, dilluting the strict boundaries of chair, table and shelf.
Conceived in natural or grey terracotta, the planters will add warmth and natural texture to any interior - and is equally fit for outdoor use, in gardens and on terraces. The add-on tables invite to interact with the plants and makes it easier to integrate the planters with other furniture . The espalier that caters for climbing plants makes for a living dividing wall
Klorofyll is designed by Anderssen & Voll, who originally grew out from Norway Says - and who is among Norway's most celebrated design offices.
Derive - by Emma Staubo & Jomi Evers
The geometric shape of the Derive hides its secret. Only as you move it around it, you will hear what it is about: bringing us into direct contact with nature.
Connected to a live audio stream from a listening station placed deep into a Norwegian forest, the Derive transmits whatever goes on in the woods. Sometimes it will be birds and insects, at other times lush winds, rain and thunder - and more often than not, a sort of quietude that is rare to experience for most of us.
The Derive emerges out of designer Emma Staubo's notion of Boundary Beings, exploring the climate that arises in the zones where nature meets the digital world. The shape of the Derive, designed together with Jomi Evers, shows inspiration both from sound waves and from elements to be found in the forest, such as pine cones and mushrooms.
You can find more info about the products in our latest catalogues and pricelists - and more videos and photos in our downloads section.
Elementa Conversations:
Mycela, founded by Sondre Eng, Renée Isabel Jung and Maria Aaslund is an Oslo-based mycelium studio and lab founded in 2020. On a warm summer day, Elementa visited Mycela at their studio at Tøyen in Oslo and got to know their concept a bit better.
In a mini-series of short interviews, Maren Bang of the Elementa crew presents the work of some of her fellow alumni from Design Academy Eindhoven.
Delphine Lejeune is a visual designer and material researcher working experimentally across 2D and 3D printed surfaces. Her curiosities lie within designed objects, and how they critically shape our social behaviors.
Carlos Sfeir is a Chilean architect, designer and artist currently based in Berlin. A little while back we had a talk about the rational and the poetic, forces of nature, and the consequences of colonialism. And about design and arts potential for being a trojan horse - bringing insight and perspectives within conventional systems.
Benedetta Pompili is an Italian interdisciplinary designer currently based in Amsterdam. Her practice is focused on a dedication to earthwork ethics and local narratives, and she explores making processes, rethinking them for sustainability aims. We had a conversation with the designer about savior faire, toxicity and the dialogue between maker and material.
Swedish designer and artist Niclas Ekwall recently exhibited his project “The Resonance of Play“ as a part of the Graduation Show during Dutch Design Week, and this coming summer he will be showing his work during the design week in Milan. We had a talk with Niclas about his approach to design and his relationship to sound and music.
In the work of Norwegian designer and artist Nebil Zaman, objects found in digital space are materialized and turned into unusual furniture and objects - sometimes with an almost otherworldly touch. We have met Nebil at his space at the Kroloftet makers space in Oslo to learn more about his work with found objects - digital and physical.
What can be found in the spaces in between the beautiful and the ugly, feminine and masculine? How can dragqueen culture inform and expand design thinking?
Maren Bang of the Elementa blog meets the Uruguayan designer and artist Bruno Baietto.
In the midst of the pandemic the communal coworking initiative Kroloftet has taken over an industrial complex formerly used as as a biker gang hideout - and turned it into a thriving hub of creative and social activity.
We have spoken to designer Oscar Honeyman-Novotny, one of the driving forces behind Kroloftet about maker spaces and design as a force of cultural change.
Plasticiet is a Rotterdam based startup that has found a way to upcycle plastic waste into long living new materials for use in interior design. We have chatted with the founders of Plasticiet about recycling and the role of small companies in closing the loops.
Human life is intimately bound together with insect life, not only by means of honey bees - but with pollinating insects of all sorts.
We have spoken to biologist, beekeper and microactivist Tora Fougner Økland about the work of Bybi Oslo, on friendship with bees - and the role of architecture and design in preserving life.
A new kayak building kit from Yamana Boats in Oslo beautifully embodies design ideals that are getting ever more relevant:
Local production, use of natural materials, intuitive design and infinite repairability.
As they launch their first Kickstarter, we had the chance to meet with designers Nina Havermans and Nico Ibaceta about boat building, makerspaces and finding time to spend time outdoors.
Birgitta Ralston & Alexandre Bau are behind the design practice Ralston Bau, working with material science, research and design with an activistic approach. With the ambitious Bioregion Vestland project, initiated by Design Region Bergen, they are exploring how experimental material design can help revitalize local industry on the Norwegian west coast.
We have spoken with Birgitta on the project and the way forward for new plastics.
Artificial Intelligence is on everybody’s lips, and yet so few seem to have had the chance to really come to terms with even its basic terminology and concepts. Norwegian design and tech agency Feed have co-produced The Elements of AI - an enormously popular free online course aiming to demystify AI.
What are the historic precedents of the computer? How can compuational thinking be applied to explore artistic creativity and the inner workings of the human soul?
We have conversed with philosopher and international Ramon Llull-expert Amador Vega on these exciting questions which were the topic of a recent exhibition at the Art Lab at EPFL in Lausanne.
For every person on Earth there are 200 million insects. Yet their numbers are dwindling and without insects, people and animals would die. Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson has written the book “Extraordinary Insects: Weird. Wonderful. Indispensable. The ones who run our world”. Elementa had a talk with the much sought-after biology professor about how and why our future depends on these life forms.
The Climate Festival § 112 of January 2019 is a broad climate celebration that encourages and inspires people to support political measures to ensure a sustainable future. Elementa had a talk with Anders Selstrøm Moe, one of the driving forces behind the festival.
Fremja is a new social therapeutic initiative in Norway for youths and grown-ups that for different reasons need adapted work or living situations. Frode Wendelboe is one of the founders and call himself an artist of care. We had a talk about the need to merge ecological and social work and why the solutions are interdependent.
The Global Seed Vault, situated deep in the permafrost of Svalbard is celebrating its 10 years aniversary this year. We have spoken to Seed Vault Coordinator Åsmund Asdal about the importance of storing original seeds safely in an unstable world.
Nicanor Perlas is a global activist, writer and speaker and regarded as one of the most remarkable leaders of the peoples movements of today.
In the midst of his active existence Perlas graciously took the time to talk to Elementa about what he sees as being the most crucial concern of our times.
Oslo is one of the rare capitals in the world that have an official City Farmer. Andreas Capjon has a passion for soil. We had a talk with him about why it matters. Also for you.
According to The New York Times List of Top New Food Words: CLIMATARIAN (n.) A diet whose primary goal is to reverse climate change. When 2017 arose, Cecilie Dawes, green entrepreneur and founder of Food Studio, had decided that she wanted to actually do it. She wanted to walk the talk.
The earth is alive, we know it intuitively - but can it be scientifically proved? And even more important, can it be experienced?
We have had the honor and pleasure of talking to eco scientist Stephan Harding about the present status of Gaia science and about how we can connect to the living presence of the Earth.
In a basement in Storgata in Oslo, old bikes from containers and roadsides are being transformed into beautiful and durable bikes that inhabit the norwegian capital. Retour is a new and social responsible bike workshop that not only creates wonderful steel frames on wheels but also creates jobs and meaning for young people.
Daniel Eugene Lacey-McDermott - better known as Captain Credible, is an uncompromising Norwegian electronic artist that has been pushing the limits of electronic music releases and building his own hacked instruments since 2008.
Dimension 10 is an Oslo-based tech startup working to revolutionize the workflow for architects, engineers and designers with an app that makes it possible to work with 3D models in a realtime virtual environment. The Elementa Blog went to meet up with founder Aleksander Langmyhr to learn about their product and the future of VR.
Eriksen Skajaa is a small Oslo based architecture studio founded by Joakim Skajaa and Arild Eriksen. By focusing on people in their work they have been able to create human friendly city development and living environments in both larger and smaller scale. We headed down to their beautiful office in Oslo to have a talk with Joakim and Arild about their approach to architecture.
Teenage engineering is one of the guiding stars in innovative, disruptive and quirky synthesizers and audio products. For the past 12 years they have pushed the limits for what synthesizers are and kept surprising the world with their wrinkled minds and strange creations born in a garage in the Swedish capital.
We had the honor of speaking with co-founder David Möllerstedt and pick his brain on their creative process and on the future of music.
Nils Faarlund is a legendary Norwegian eco-philosopher, mountaineer and a great friend of nature. We spoke to him about the Norwegian term for outdoors life, Friluftsliv, natural materials and design.
# How would you explain the Norwegian term friluftsliv to English speakers?
In my opinion, outdoor activities in modern societies are responses to the stress, boredom and effort for building identity caused by an urban lifestyle.
Growlab is a small design studio truly dedicated to find new ways of making our cities better and more sustainable. Mads Pålsrud and Tabea Glahs founded Growlab in 2012 with a shared passion for solving social issues with design thinking. We went to talk to Mads and Tabea about how they use design and what they want to achieve with their approach.
Danish design blog Scandinavian Standards have recently interviewed Jonas Stokkeabout the process behind the Elementa UN Divided furniture system.
