My study challenges the status quo that seems to exist in the design of modern apartments, which is heavily influenced by the modernistic movement that flourished in early 20th century. Modernists strived to create a just and equal society, by challenging the social order and the traditional hierarchical system. The architecture of the time reflected these ideals and ultimately resulted in simplistic and repetitive designs that often formed box like interiors with standardised furniture. Consequently, these designs are detached from the individualism of the inhabitants, forcing people to sit, sleep, dine and socialise in a predefined space in a prescribed manner. My project is an artistic intervention to the BOX - the soulless interior of modern apartments. My aim is to explore and imagine alternative ways of existing within the box and push the boundaries of how we conduct daily activities in the living space.

In 2020, the meatpacking district of Stockholm (Slakthusområdet) is at the beginning of a period of change. A lot of its buildings are being demolished, or at least gutted, to transform a historical area of industry into a more urban district of housing, offices, trade, and services along with new parks and squares (Stockholms Stad, 2020). This thesis project is specifically about the first building that was torn down as part of the development of the area, Sandhagen 2. We should consider our condemned buildings a precious resource and extract from them rather than from the earth. In every house there is invested energy which is lost the day it is demolished but there is also something else that is lost other than precious resources. The research aims to highlight the importance of reuse not from the more obvious sustainability point of view, but as something that can be aesthetically motivated. The method involves a dissection of Sandhagen 2, extracting interior architectural elements without excessive alterations, and making an organized taxonomy. The taxonomy is then rearranged into a new spatial composition. How can a space be created from a taxonomy defined by an interior architect? How does a material’s earlier life add or take away potential in its future life?  The proposal is a strange space where the tension created by reuse is completely between the elements themselves, a result of having to become the conventional parts of architecture that complete a space; steps, something to sit on, floor, partitions.

Detta examensprojekt i inredningsarkitektur och möbeldesign på Konstfack, utforskar och utvecklar metoder för hur inredningsarkitektur kan gestaltas utifrån musik. Genom ett praktikbaserat undersökande analyseras subjektiva upplevelser av musik, vilka beståndsdelar som finns och hur musiken är uppbyggd. Ett undersökande som skapar ramar för inredningsarkitekten att förhålla sig till i en gestaltningsprocess. Inte som en begränsning, utan som ett gränssnitt som välkomnar alternativa arbetssätt och undersöker nya gestaltningsmöjligheter. Utifrån ett utvalt musikstycke gestaltas en interiör översättning av musiken och upplevelser den genererar. Projektet itererar mellan musikteori, studier av subjektiva upplevelser och färg-, ljus- och materialutforskning. Resultatet blir ett förslag på metoder för att analysera och studera rumslighet i direkt relation till musik, men också ett konkret gestaltningsförslag utifrån denna metodutveckling. Ett exempel på en översättning av ett medium till ett annat, som i sig blir ett fristående verk. Rytm, mörker och ljus formar tillsammans en temporal upplevelse. Ett musikstycke blir till interiör i långt, smalt rum, där ljuset hamnar i fokus mellan två skikt av väggar, med inslag av överraskningar som visar sig i ljusfärg, ytfärg eller material. / This degree project in interior architecture and furniture design at Konstfack, explores and develops methods for how interior architecture can be designed based on music. Through practice-based studies, the project analyzes subjective experiences of music, which components that exist and how the music is structured. Studies that creates frames for the interior designer to relate to in a design process. Not as limitations, but as an interface that welcomes alternative ways of working and investigates new design possibilities. Based on a selected piece of music, a translation into interior is created of the music and experiences it generates. The project iterates between music theory, studies of subjective experiences and color, light and material exploration. The result is a proposal for methods created for analyzing and studying spatiality in relation to music, but also a design proposal based on this method development. An example of a translation of one medium into another, which in itself becomes an independent work. Rhythm, darkness and light form a temporal experience together. A piece of music becomes an interior in a long, narrow room, where the light comes into focus between two layers of walls, with elements of surprises represented in colored light, surface color or material.

Cellkontor är en av de äldsta kontorstyperna som fortfarande används frekvent i dagens samhälle. Ett cellkontor är en statisk miljö som brukare har svårt att anpassa sig efter tiden i en konkurrerande miljö. För att motverka bristen på flexibilitet betonas en ny form av flexibilitet som framgångsfaktor för framtidens kontor. Den nya formen av flexibilitet beskrivs som ett agilt förhållningssätt. Det agila förhållningssättet tillåter verksamheter att bemöta oförutsägbara förändringar genom anpassningsbara kontorsmiljöer. Studien har utrett och identifierat indikatorer som korrelerar med brukares ställningstagande och utformningens betydelse för en anpassningsbar cellkontorsmiljö. De valda tillvägagångssätten för denna undersökning är fallstudie och erfarenhetsåterföring. Det avgränsade fallet är användningsbarhet av cellkontor, där olika infallsvinklar som anpassningsbarhet, samhörighet, individualitet, ergonomi, ljussättning och stimulering studeras. Fallstudien kommer att bestå av intervjuer, enkäter och observationer. Enkätsvaren påvisar även att brukare värdesätter möjligheten att utföra ansträngande och koncentrationskrävande arbetsuppgifter i cellerna, likväl som hemmet på grund av avskildheten och individualiteten. Däremot beskriver brukarna en avsaknad av kreativa ytor, samarbetsplatser och öppna interaktionsytor på båda kontoren. Detta är tre av de mest nämnda punkterna som brukarna saknar. Samtliga chefer beskriver hur cellkontoret har bristande flexibilitet. Cheferna poängterar hur lokalerna är utformade för fåtal ändamål. Vidare beskrivs hur medarbetare aktivt måste lämna sin cell vid samarbetsorienterade arbetsuppgifter och pekar på en efterfrågan av informella mötesplatser och multifunktionella ytor. Takten på utvecklingen av trender och skiftet av fokusområden ger en indikation på vad ett kontor ska bistå med och nya kravställningar från brukare. Fler personliga möten, ökade omstruktureringar samt ökad flexibilitet kring geografisk placering har givit upphov till ett skifte i vilka krav brukare ställer: större utbud av varierande miljöer, fler informella mötesplatser. Fler kontorsanställda ser fördelarna och möjligheterna med arbete på olika geografiska platser. Kontorets roll har förändrats och behöver numera erbjuda miljöer som lockar medarbetare till kontoret. För att garantera hållbara miljöer behöver såväl de fysiska som sociala funktionerna stödjas i samtliga ytor på kontoret, medan miljöer för koncentrationskrävande arbetsuppgifter kan tillgodoses på annan plats i större utsträckning. Pandemin har visat att en ökad acceptans för flexibelt arbetande, samtidigt som de snabba omställningarna indikerar att kontoren behöver en hög flexibilitetsgrad för att smidigt kunna anpassa sig till nya behov. Flexibilitet i praktiken handlar till stor del av möjligheter att kunna variera miljöer och aktiviteter. Agila arbetsplatser representerar nästa viktiga steg i arbetsplatsens utveckling. En anpassningsbar kontorsmiljö möjliggör för brukare att tillgodose grundläggande arbetsrelaterade behov såväl som individuella och varierande behov. / Cell offices are one of the oldest office types that are still frequently used today. A cell office is a static environment that users have difficulty adapting to over time in a competitive environment. To counteract the lack of flexibility, a new form of flexibility is emphasized as a success factor for the offices of the future. The new form of flexibility is described as an agile approach. The agile approach allows businesses to respond to unpredictable changes through adaptable office environments. The study has investigated and identified indicators that correlate with users' attitudes and the importance of design for an adaptable cell office environment. The chosen approaches for this study are case study, literature study and architectural guidance. The delimited case is the usability of cell offices, where different angles of approach such as adaptability, belonging, individuality, ergonomics, lighting, and stimulation are studied. The case study will consist of interviews, questionnaires, and observations.  The survey results show that users value the opportunity to perform strenuous and concentration-demanding tasks in the cells, as well as at home due to the privacy and individuality. On the other hand, users describe a lack of creative spaces, collaborative spaces, and interaction spaces. These are three of the most mentioned points that users are missing. All managers describe how the cell offices lacks flexibility. The managers mention how the offices are designed for few purposes. They also describe how employees must actively leave their cell for collaborative tasks and points to a demand for informal meeting spaces and multifunctional spaces. The pace of development of trends and the shift of focus has given an indication to what role the office will have and which requirements it needs to meet with regard to users. An increase of personal meetings, readjustments and increased flexibility regarding geographical location have given rise to a shift in what demands users make: greater range of varying spaces and more informal meeting places. Office workers are realizing the benefits and opportunities of working in different geographical locations. The role of the office has shifted, were the indoor spaces need to attract employees to the office. To ensure sustainable office environments, both the physical and social functions need to be supported in all areas of the office, while environments for concentration-demanding tasks can be met elsewhere to a greater extent. The pandemic has shown that there is an increased acceptance of flexible working, while the rapid changes indicate that office spaces need a higher degree of flexibility for adapting to new needs. Flexibility in practice is mainly about opportunities of varying environments and activities. Agile workplaces represent the next important step in workplace development. An adaptable office environment enables users to meet basic work-related needs as well as individual and varying needs.

Det här projektet presenterar hur inredningsarkitektur skulle kunna ta hand om efterlämnade exteriöra stadsrum och undersöker detta mer specifikt genom att ta sig an Hägerstens torg i Axelsberg – ett senmodernistiskt förortstorg i Stockholm, som historiskt varit mer attraktivt och livligt men idag står och förfaller. Projektet arbetar följaktligen med rumskategorin torg, vilket är viktiga mötesplatser och rumsliga uttryck för de demokratiska värderingar som vårt samhälle bygger på. Genom plats- och rumsanalyser, gestaltande undersökningar och formstudier, ritningar samt visualiseringar, presenterar rapporten tre gestaltningsförslag som med sina kontemplativa inslag önskar få människorna på torget att få syn på sig själva och på varandra. De tre gestaltningsförslagen stärker varandra och fungerar som en integrerad helhet. Nya skulpturala möbler blir ett tillägg som möjliggör social interaktion på platsen. En omgestaltad yta på en redan existerande cirkulär markbeläggning gör platsen mer iögonfallande och uppmärksammar passerande på platsen, sig själva och varandra. Den mur som finns på torget utvecklas med cirkulära reflekterande material som aktiverar rummet genom att reflektera platsen och människorna som befolkar den. Därigenom förbättras torgets och befolkningens rumsliga upplevelser, även den tid som spenderas på platsen kan då förlängas. Designförslagen vill återaktivera torgets centrala roll i samhället, som social och demokratisk plats för mellanmänskliga möten. Projektet belyser således vikten av inredningsarkitektur i planeringen av våra stadsrum, och hävdar att inredningsarkitekter behöver, i högre utsträckning än idag, erövra gestaltandet av våra urbana livsmiljöer för att främja mellanmänskliga möten, den rumsliga upplevelsen och lusten av att vara i ett rum.

Constructed Banquet explores the meal; its preparation, consumption and remains. Through a (re)construction and arrangement of the spatial context I reflect upon fixed ideas and ingrained behaviors. The aim is to illuminate and shed light on entrenched be- haviors and notions surrounding dining. To transcend the ordinary and let the mundane become extraordinary. During the process I have been making patterns of the everyday ac- tivity of eating - through simplifications, interpretations and exaggerations. The approach of playfulness and curiosity has guided me as I navigate this exploration.  In parallel, I delve into the history of how we gather around a meal. Revisiting traditions, rituals and manners associated with communal dining. Through (re)interpretations and interventions I craft tools that speak a body language. I want to create and stage exagger- ations and deviate from the expected, to let artifacts and new contexts provoke reflection.  By examining the tools and practices of dining, Constructed Banquet took departure in a series of interactive workshops where participants used various unconventional eating tools. These tools, influenced the participants’ character and behavior during the meal, re- vealing the impact of cutlery on social behavior. Additionally, the workshops emphasized the aesthetic value of the traces left behind after a meal, challenging the common urge to erase evidence of use and pointing out the importance of a balance between functionality and the emotional resonance of everyday objects.

Attefall-house: Greater than the sum of its parts? I am exploring how to create a small scale space which is more than just a functional space, a space that also provides an architectural experience. I am using the Swedish Attefall-house as a case study. This small, permit-free construction comes with a frame and it has clearly defined rules and limitations. The smallness of it allows for experimentation and in the normally hard-regulated Swedish building climate, it provides an opportunity to try out ideas without having to be too serious. I am trying to create this sensory experience by fusing function and context together with selected architects’ and artists’ ideas. What happens when these seemingly disparate ingredients combine? Will the whole be greater than the sum of its parts? / Attefallshus: Större än summan av delarna? Jag utforskar hur man kan skapa ett rum i liten skala som är mer än bara ett funktionellt rum, ett rum som också är en arkitektonisk upplevelse. Jag använder mig av Attefallshuset som fallstudie. Denna lilla, bygglovsbefriade, konstruktion kommer med en ram, den har tydligt definierade regler och begränsningar. Dess storlek tillåter experimenterande och, i det normalt hårt reglerade svenska bygglovsklimatet, erbjuder en möjlighet att testa idéer utan att behöva vara för allvarlig. Jag försöker skapa denna sensoriska upplevelse genom en fusion av funktion och kontext tillsammans med ett urval av arkitekters och konstnärers idéer. Vad händer när dessa till synes disparata ingredienser kombineras? Blir helheten större än summan av delarna?

In a time of growing consciousness around sustainability and an early paradigm shift when it comes to circular systems for furniture and interiors, as an aspiring designer, I need and must adapt accordingly within my field and creative practice. In this project, I have worked with the immense material waste that is going on, especially focusing on furniture and interiors, within the public and private sectors as well as in office environments, where this is a big issue. Guided by the United Nations Global Goal No 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, I have experimented with, to me, new ideas for systems that deal with the upcycling and repurposing of “old” and/or discarded pieces of furniture and the material they are made from. To see what I can make of it to prolong the lifecycle and give the material a new purpose, function, and value. In my process I have acted both as an interior architect and a furniture designer but also as a sculptor and craftsman since the predetermined “waste” material I have worked with demanded a reversed design process than what a “normal” one would look like for a commercial project.    The result is a series of new furniture designed and made from waste material, revisioned by me through a mix of art and design, to see how I as a designer of furniture and interiors can develop and find my path in this and to help formulate the new design paradigm and aesthetics for future circular and sustainable furniture and interior solutions that is underway.

This project explores vagueness in space and how it can help us train and sharpen our senses as designers and architects to adapt to the realities of scarcity and how to make less-extractive processes of creating space. Using ephemeral but recurring phenomena such as air flow, reflections, refractions of light and moist in architecture as inspiration, I seek to make everyday-spaces, such as underneath a wash basin, a radiator or behind a door, interesting again. With methods inspired by the land art movement to find new ways of seeing interior spaces, I use attentiveness and the idea to not destroy or disturb to observe already existing spaces. The project seeks to tell a story of neglected beauty in forgotten spaces and translating them into (im)material architectural spatial installations.  I hope this project can bring an understanding that protecting and appreciating what we already have is probably more sustainable than constantly changing and readjusting spaces to fit our wants and what we think we need. To train our senses and get new ideas of beauty and function in already existing interior spaces, brings what is out of focus into the light. This might be a way to partly slow down the industry of interiors and redirect how we work as architects and designers to understand that everything doesn’t need to change, but if we seek change, we can do it by immaterial phenomena, such as light through the interstices, that will occur as long as there is life.

In my thesis project, I am questioning how we, as interior architects, can design and use material in a creative, sustainable and sensory way when the common workflow of our practice is becoming increasingly more digital and distanced, when quality and prices are being pressured by the consumer system and when production, to a great extent, has moved to developing countries. I believe that when we distance ourselves from the practical knowledge and process of making, we are also distancing ourselves from understanding how our bodies inhabit the world. How are we to design meaningful and multi-sensory spatial experiences, create something to connect and care for, when we are working from a distance, far away beyond the horizon? In my view, all spatial experiences are multi-sensory, meaning that we experience them through more senses than our gaze. Therefore, I believe it is important to practice as an interior architect through embodied methods of making, not limiting our understanding of space to two-dimensional representations such as computer models or drawings. Through tactile, slow and repetitive hands-on practice, I learn about the material wood and its sensory qualities and let the material guide me in my process. My project shows my collection of embodied memories from that learning process in an archive of wooden pieces and three pieces of furniture. All telling a tactile story of their own to be experienced with our senses.