STUDIO YK
Design
Among the greats of Finnish design, Yrjö Kukkapuro defies categorisation. He lives as he designs, with a pragmatism that never compromises on experimentation and imagination, and he is a cornerstone of contemporary Finnish design and visual culture.
Much of a career that spans some 70 years, has originated from Studio Kukkapuro, the embodiment of his ideals, with its innovative undulating concrete ceiling, seemingly hovering above walls of windows, and so mathematically perfect it needed no interior columns to support the weight of its seemingly featherlight ceiling. Here on the outskirts of Helsinki, Kukkapuro lived and worked alongside Irmeli, his artist wife, and built his prototypes. Famed for his chairs – he thinks he has designed nearly 100 – Yrjö Kukkapuro is a true polymath who designed everything from furniture and lighting to exhibitions and fair booths. His status as a collectible designer means his work claims high prices at auction and several of his designs are being put into production again. The exhibition at the Espoo Museum of Modern Art (EMMA), Yrjö Kukkapuro – Magic Room, honours his prolific career.
Read more in Ark Journal VOLUME IX.
WORDS ALISA LARSEN
PHOTOGRAPHY JONAS BJERRE-POULSEN
STYLING SIGRID GRY LAURSEN
design /delight: A PLATFORM FOR CONTEMPORARY DESIGN
During Shanghai Art Week, the city’s cultural landscape was shaped by the second edition of design /delight, an emerging platform dedicated to contemporary collectible design and functional art.
SPATIAL GESTURES
The wearable objects Yuta Ishihara makes under the moniker Shihara play tricks on us. “The hardware is in focus, incorporated into the design itself,” says Ishihara.
LAKE COME DESIGN FESTIVAL 2025
The city of Como once again hosted the seventh edition of the Lake Como Design Festival, under the theme Fragments. The festival invited visitors to reflect on fragmentation not as a sign of rupture, but as a catalyst for creative rebirth, for the preservation of memory, and for a regenerative approach to design.
STUDIO YK
Design
Among the greats of Finnish design, Yrjö Kukkapuro defies categorisation. He lives as he designs, with a pragmatism that never compromises on experimentation and imagination, and he is a cornerstone of contemporary Finnish design and visual culture.
Much of a career that spans some 70 years, has originated from Studio Kukkapuro, the embodiment of his ideals, with its innovative undulating concrete ceiling, seemingly hovering above walls of windows, and so mathematically perfect it needed no interior columns to support the weight of its seemingly featherlight ceiling. Here on the outskirts of Helsinki, Kukkapuro lived and worked alongside Irmeli, his artist wife, and built his prototypes. Famed for his chairs – he thinks he has designed nearly 100 – Yrjö Kukkapuro is a true polymath who designed everything from furniture and lighting to exhibitions and fair booths. His status as a collectible designer means his work claims high prices at auction and several of his designs are being put into production again. The exhibition at the Espoo Museum of Modern Art (EMMA), Yrjö Kukkapuro – Magic Room, honours his prolific career.
Read more in Ark Journal VOLUME IX.
WORDS ALISA LARSEN
PHOTOGRAPHY JONAS BJERRE-POULSEN
STYLING SIGRID GRY LAURSEN