Snøhetta Archives

Norwegian studio Snøhetta has teamed up with lighting brand Ateljé Lyktan to create Superdupertube, an office lamp made from extruded hemp and sugarcane bioplastic.

The design is a contemporary update of Ateljé Lyktan‘s Supertube – an office light from the 1970s made from extruded aluminium.

“[The Supertube] had finished production in 2010 or something like that, so it was iconic but sort of forgotten,” Snøhetta partner Jenny B Osuldsen told Dezeen. “And it’s a tube. It’s not rocket science but it is what you need for a smart lamp in an office.”

“We really loved it and think it has a lot of possibilities, so we wanted to upgrade it to a new level,” she added.

Tubular hemp lamp — It is made from hemp and can be industrially composted. Photo by Ateljé Lyktan

The extrusion technique for the original lamp was developed in the 1960s, and Snøhetta and Ateljé Lyktan decided to create a lamp that would nod to the original design.

However, the aim was to lower the carbon footprint of the lamp by choosing the most sustainable material possible.

View of compostable lamp made from hemp — Snøhetta and Ateljé Lyktan chose to use hemp as the material is renewable and durable

The studios played around with multiple different materials before settling on the hemp bioplastic, which was used to form Snøhetta’s first office lighting design.

Snøhetta and Ateljé Lyktan first worked together on The 7th Room, a charred-timber cabin suspended among the treetops in northern Sweden, for which they also collaborated on the lighting design.

Detailed view of Superdupertube lamp — The lighting features twisted louvres. Photo by Ateljé Lyktan

“When we were doing The 7th Room project up in northern Sweden, everything was in pine and there were lots of pine cones,” Osuldsen said.

“We wanted to find a product or material that isn’t used for anything else, so we started testing the use of pine cones by grinding them, but it didn’t work.”

“The fibres in the cones are too short,” said Ateljé Lyktan product director Malin Gadd. “We also tried using coffee grounds but they are even shorter, so we realised quite quickly that we needed fibres that are long and strong.”

“That’s where the hemp fibres come into the picture,” she added.

Snøhetta and Ateljé Lyktan sourced the hemp used for the lights from the Netherlands, as the quality of the hemp from Swedish farmers “wasn’t quite there yet”, according to Gadd.

The Superdupertube light shown in an interior — Its shape is both extruded and injection-moulded

The hemp is mixed with a polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastic derived from sugarcane, alongside wood cellulose and different minerals to create a fossil- and gas-free composite.

The material is then extruded to create the main body of the lamp, which also comprises injection-moulded louvres and side covers. To add to the organic feel of the light, its electric cables are covered with linen fabric.

“Hemp is an old cultural plant and it’s very easy to renew [by growing more],” Osuldsen said. “And it’s very durable.”

Fastening on hemp lamp by Ateljé Lyktan — Linen fabric covers the electric cable. Photo by Ateljé Lyktan

The Superdupertube can be composted in an industrial composter or recycled and ground down into pellets to create more lamps.

However, this currently requires owners to send the lamps back to the producer, as the material cannot be processed in regular recycling centres.

Using the hemp bioplastic reduces the lamp’s carbon footprint by over 50 per cent compared to traditional aluminium variants, according to Snøhetta and Ateljé Lyktan.

Colour of Superdupertube — The Superdupertube comes in a natural colour. Photo by Ateljé Lyktan

The dimmable Superdupertube features twisted louvres – an architectural detail that helps the light feel softer by angling the glare away.

“That’s why it’s a perfect workspace luminaire, it’s adapted to be better for the person sitting working and it’s also totally unique – it doesn’t exist on the market,” Gadd said.

The Superdupertube, which comes in four different lengths, has an organic beige colour with a natural pattern from the hemp and other ingredients.

Wooden wall behind Superdupertube lamp — It is the first time Snøhetta has designed an office lamp

“We didn’t really know how it would look,” Osuldsen said. “The material is the colour of the hemp. And, of course, there’s probably something from the sugarcane because it’s heated up. It’s burnt sugar in a way.”

“So we get this specific colour and that also means that all of them will be a little bit different,” she added. “It’s all about the crops; if it’s a wet year or a dry year, the humidity in the material will be a little bit different. That’s why it’s sort of alive.”

Other recent Snøhetta projects include a glass-lined library in China designed to look like a forest and a hexagonal paving system for urban landscapes.

The photography is by Jonas Lindstrom unless otherwise stated.

Reference

Architecture

Dezeen Debate features Snøhetta library with a “feeling of extravagance”

By Zarkon Group,01/03/2024

The latest edition of our Dezeen Debate newsletter features Beijing City Library in China by Snøhetta. Subscribe to Dezeen Debate now.

The Beijing City Library in China, designed by Norwegian studio Snøhetta, features a glass-lined structure punctuated by towering tree-like columns and rooms disguised as hills.

Commenters analysed the structure closely, with one characterising it as having a “feeling of extravagance” while also criticising it by suggesting: “It can only mean massive expenditure.”

Another observer perceived it as “borrowing heavily” from Frank Lloyd Wright’s SC Johnson Wax HQ.

Space Perspective completes capsule for balloon-powered “journey to the edge of space”

Other stories in this week’s newsletter that fired up the comments section included space tourism company Space Perspective’s test capsule for its Neptune spacecraft, a high-protein food by scientists from South Korea’s Yonsei University and Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza’s extension of his 1999 Serralves Museum project in Porto.

Dezeen Debate

Dezeen Debate is sent every Thursday and features a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Debate or subscribe here.

You can also subscribe to our other newsletters; Dezeen Agenda is sent every Tuesday containing a selection of the most important news highlights from the week, Dezeen Daily is our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours and Dezeen In Depth is sent on the last Friday of every month and delves deeper into the major stories shaping architecture and design.

Reference

Interior Design

Snøhetta creates Holzweiler’s store informed by Norwegian coastline

By Zarkon Group,24/07/2023

Architecture studio Snøhetta has completed a shop for fashion and lifestyle brand Holzweiler in Chengdu, China, informed by its Norwegian heritage.

Located in Taikoo Li mall in central Chengdu, the 130-square-metre store is Norwegian brand Holzweiler‘s first outpost outside of Scandinavia.

“The store features recurring themes of currents, reflections and contrasts inspired by landscapes and coastal movements, a bespoke concept of the forces of norwegian nature playing on our shared heritage,” Snøhetta explained.

“With the aim of transporting Holzweiler’s love and deep respect for its origins, there is an immediate and consistent reference to the natural world that harks to the brand’s home country.”

The exterior of the store features a full-size LED screen, which will be used to display campaigns that showcase that brand’s connection to nature.

A glass wall framed with wavy lines divides the LED screen into two parts, revealing the store’s warm clay-toned interiors to visitors.

The entrance of the store was crafted from floor-to-ceiling sand-blasted stone that extend to the product display area where mechanical arms present Holzweiler’s signature silk, lambswool and cashmere scarf designs.

Wavy lines were widely adopted inside the store, as a nod to to the shorelines along Norway’s extensive coastline. A series of hanging lights were suspended from the reflective surface of the ceiling, which was clad in steel with a sandblasted finish.

The clothing racks made with the same steal material run along the curved wall, while the forms of the display tables placed in the centre of the space were designed to evoke coastal rock formations.

Natural materials were used throughout the store, sourced locally from China. Meanwhile, all fixtures within the store were designed to be flexibly dissembled and repurposed in the future.

The point of sale area is tucked away at the back of the store separated from the main shopping area to provide privacy for customers.

Snøhetta is a long-term collaborator of Holzweiler’s, having designed the company’s flagship store and showroom in Oslo, as well as its first international outpost in Copenhagen.

The Studio has recently completed a planetarium in France, featuring two domes surrounded by sweeping wooden walls and a shingle-clad viewing tower in Austria.

The photography is courtesy of Holzweiler.

Reference

Interior Design

Snøhetta combines clay and oak for minimalist interior of Holzweiler store

By Zarkon Group,24/02/2023

Architecture practice Snøhetta stuck to natural materials for the fit-out of the Holzweiler boutique in Copenhagen, incorporating subtle references to the fashion brand’s Norwegian heritage.

Snøhetta is a long-term collaborator of Holzweiler‘s, having designed the company’s flagship store and showroom in Oslo, as well as a number of its pop-up shops, runway sets and its digital identity.

For Holzweiler’s first international outpost in Copenhagen, Snøhetta followed the concept of “tracing” – devising an interior scheme that shows traces of the brand’s Norwegian roots alongside the minimalist aesthetic found in its previous retail spaces.

“Reminiscent of a memory or feeling that remains, the idea of ‘traces’ evokes an emotional sense of the brand’s beloved heritage as it travels to a new city,” the practice said.

Holzweiler's Copenhagen store features minimalist interiors by Snøhetta — A clay sculpture by Ingeborg Riseng sits at the heart of the store

At the centre of the 100-square-metre store is a tall, hollow sculpture by Norwegian artist Ingeborg Riseng, which shoppers can step into. Its undulating outer walls are fitted with display shelves and coated in a smooth layer of clay, while the inside has a rough, craggy surface.

An oakwood display plinth winds its way around the periphery of the store, eventually connecting to a curved timber partition at the rear of the floor plan.

Behind the wall lies a changing area with cubicles and curtains created by Danish textile design studio Tronhjem Rømer.

The fabric is digitally printed with subtle yellow and pale blue stripes, designed to evoke the shifting shades of the Norwegian sky.

To contrast the store’s largely natural material palette, Snøhetta added some industrial-style finishing touches like metal clothing rails and custom strip lighting, developed by Swedish brand Ateljé Lyktan.

Both the floors and ceilings were preserved from the store’s previous fit-out.

Other recent projects by Snøhetta include Bolder Star Lodges, a quartet of wooden cabins that overlook a fjord in Norway.

Meanwhile in Denmark, the practice employed boat construction techniques to create a timber community centre in Esbjerg.

The photography is by Magnus Nordstrand, courtesy of Snøhetta and Holzweiler.

Reference

Interior Design

Snøhetta references libraries for Oslo pop-up store A Better Place to Think

By Zarkon Group,17/06/2021

Architecture firm Snøhetta has created a library-informed respite from the digital world with A Better Place to Think, an Oslo pop-up shop for tablet brand reMarkable.

Located just off the city’s main shopping street, the temporary store was made to showcase the brand’s tablet, which has a paper-like surface.

Snøhetta looked to libraries for the design, which features divided timber desks, leather banquets and small domed reading lamps.

The Norwegian studio wanted to encourage contemplation and concentration through the spatial qualities of the pop-up.

Library-like reading nook — It features bespoke oak furniture in a quiet environment

“In today’s fast-paced and digitalised society, finding places for focused thinking can be a challenge,” Snøhetta founder Kjetil Trædal Thorsen told Dezeen.

“For the reMarkable pop-up store, we wanted to echo the serene environments of libraries – the clean and open spaces, somber aesthetics, tidy structures, and focused reading zones.”

Standing desks separated by dividers — The central light installation is inspired by a handwritten line

A Better Place to Think features two concentric rings of desks and seating, with the inner ring made up entirely of standing desks and the outer ring featuring blocks of seated desks, benches and sofas.

A handmade light installation overhead was inspired by the energy and movement of a line of handwriting.

The walls and ceiling are painted in a “calm and sober” dark blue, with white acoustic panels and shelving covering most of the wall space.

The matt finishes across the walls, panels and on the bespoke oak furniture are meant to echo the material qualities of paper.

Person writing on reMarkable paper tablet at oak desk — The store features matt finishes inspired by the feel of paper

The design of the pop-up aims to emphasise the enduring value of bricks-and-mortar shopping.

“Although consumers are becoming increasingly digital in their shopping habits, especially during the pandemic, we see the value of letting our customers experience that ‘wow’ moment of writing on one of our paper tablets for the very first time,” said reMarkable founder and CEO Magnus Wanberg.

White acoustic panel with shelving — White pulp acoustic panels line the walls

Founded in 1989, Snøhetta has offices around the world.

Its recently completed buildings include the shimmering Le Monde Group Headquarters in Paris and the El Paso Children’s Museum, which has a barrel-vaulted roof resembling a cloud.

Photography is by Calle Huth.

Reference

Snøhetta

Snøhetta designs compostable hemp light Superdupertube

Dezeen Debate features Snøhetta library with a “feeling of extravagance”

Snøhetta creates Holzweiler’s store informed by Norwegian coastline

Snøhetta combines clay and oak for minimalist interior of Holzweiler store

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