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IDZ Internationales Design Zentrum Berlin back
"The utility value of a design is always paramount"
Photo: © Hopf Nordin
According to the motto "Berliner Zimmer" the IDZ presents nine Berlin designers and labels at the Biennale INTERIEUR in Kortrijk, Belgium (14. – 23.10.). One of them is the German-Swedish "lab for design" Hopf, Nordin. Today we present the founders Andreas Hopf and Axel Nordin, who design lighting, furniture and accessories.
IDZ: What was the inspiration for your products?
Andreas:The idea for "Fyr" emerged watching the "Bengktskär Fyr", the highest lighthouse in Scandinavia, on an island near the coast Finnish Baltic Sea. We wanted to achieve uniform 360° illumination from a single LED, which nobody had achieved before. The purpose and form of the lighthouse inspired both, the solution and the design – we felt illuminated in the truest sense.
IDZ:How would you describe your style?
Axel:We are often working in Scandinavia and have a soft spot for simple expressive forms. The utility value of a design is always paramount.
We felt illuminated in the truest sense
IDZ:What do you associate with the "Berliner Zimmer"?
Andreas:
The "Berliner Zimmer" is a peculiarity, a habitable quirk, delivered courtesy of Friedrich Schinkel! A large, dark and not circumnavigable room – in any case an exciting task to illuminate and furnish.
IDZ:In a Berlin apartment, in which part of the "Berliner Zimmer" do you see your product?
Axel:"Fyr" goes well with sideboards or bureaux; these furnitures are enjoying quite a comeback. The smaller version fits nicely on sideboards and nightstands – or on the floor beside low beds; the light is warm and dimmable.
Design is impressing, when it resprects the diversity of people's lives
IDZ:What do you expect from the Biennale Interieur?
Andreas:We’re looking forward to interesting talks with Belgian, Dutch and French interior architects or design stores - and ten days of moule-frites and waterzooi.
IDZ:How important is design for broader society?
Andreas:Design is important for society, when it puts people at the center, not the designers.
IDZ:When are you impressed by design?
Axel:When design respects the diversity of people’s lives, when it delivers perpetual inspiration and qualifies for a heirloom, quite much is achieved.
More information: Hopf, Nordin
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