Behind the Scenes

Finnish Association of Interior Architects SIO is celebrating it’s 60 years birthday this year. The opening exhibition ‘Behind the Scenes’ is introducing rarely seen prototypes of Finnish furniture design from the past 60 years. There are lamps, tables, divans and cabinets as well as various smaller items on display but the main focus is on chairs - from Werner West’s 50’s pine chair to Kokoomo collective’s novel pieces of furniture that already got attention in Milano Furniture Fair last year. Pieces of furniture at ‘Behind the Scenes’ exhibition are designed by old hands, new comers, well established and not so well established interior architects. The main focus is on 1990’s and the ongoing decade but you can also find exceptional pieces from the past.

Furniture design is an essential part of interior architect’s working field but only few can make a living solely as a furniture designer. More common is to design special pieces of furniture as part of a décor. Prototypes and sample collections manufactured in furniture factories often don’t make it to the market for various productional and commercial reasons. An interesting collection of these unique designer pieces are now exhibited in ‘Behind the Scenes’. More than hundred pieces of furniture and other items were offered to the exhibition. Nominated jury chose about 50 pieces to the display. The jury consisted of designer Pasi Pänkäläinen, interior architect Teemu Järvi, designer Heikki Ruoho and interior architect Eeva Lithovius. The architecture of the exhibition was designed by Järvi & Ruoho Oy and the exhibition was coordinated by Eeva Lithovius.