Vitra & Artek + Studio Ilse = Super Sweet Installation at Vitrahaus!

The first – and smokin’ hot – installation and collaboration between Vitra + Artek recently opened at VitraHaus loft in Weil am Rhein. Officially joining forces in 2013, after Vitra acquired Artek, the two furniture companies enlisted the help of Ilse Crawford of Studio Ilse who created a glorious space to introduce the union of the two brands. Rather than simply display their products alongside each other, the shared brand is introduced in the form of a story: an imaginary home of a fictitious Finnish-German couple, Harri and Astrid.

Each piece of furniture and lighting, to the smallest detail, has been selected and pulled together to let us into the couples’ lives; how they live, who they are and what they value. In turn – and importantly – the make-believe home communicates “the shared values that lie at the heart of Vitra and Artek.” The concept was born in attempt to go “beyond the bland commercialisation of design, to convey real life in all its layers and eccentricities.” Here, products speak of more than product per se, but of life, culture and human behaviour.

“Today, these things might be considered design classics, but they were never intended to be museum exhibits. They were intended to raise the quality of everyday life and living.” There’s no denying the fact the end result is simply exquisite. But more importantly, how excellent is this from the communication stand point? In my mind, they’ve totes nailed the articulation of the brand philosophy. Fo shizzle.

More projects by Studio Ilse on Yellowtrace.

FvF Apartment by Vitra & Freunde von Freunden.

[Photography by Felix Odell. Images courtesy of Artek.]