Curated theme auction with award-winning architect Andreas Martin-Löf
Bid on design furniture from one of Sweden's most talked about interiors
Through Bukowski's series "Unique Homes" you now have the opportunity to buy selected design furniture from one of Andreas Martin-Löf's most remarkable interiors. The furniture comes from Andreas' private home from the project "Lyceum", a university building that was previously part of the Royal Institute of Technology and one of Andreas' most notable projects. Andreas Martin-Löf is an award-winning architect and interior designer, based in Stockholm but he is well known also outside Sweden's borders.
How would you describe the interior you created for this particular project, which was also your private home for a long time?
I have never been particularly fond of the "New Nordic" aesthetics and have actively withdrawn myself from that style in favour of a more low-key and classic expression.
The apartment in Lyceum could easily have felt heavy and traditional as the house was built in the 1890s but the vertical proportions in the rooms, the large original windows and the more than four meters high columns got a light impression with the help of a bright colour scheme and the beautiful daylight. To that, I added an interior that consisted of only a few materials: teak, rattan, black-toned metal and grey wool rugs, green-grey velvet curtains and a white mohair velvet on the large sofa. The forms were consistently inspired by international post-war masters. I felt I wanted to weigh up, and break, the imposing 19th century architecture with something lighter that also gave a sense of nowness.
The image from your living room, which includes several of the design furniture that are now sold through Bukowskis, became one of Instagram's most shared interior design images 2018–2019. Why is that do you think?
I was actually surprised myself because I worked on the project for 6 years before I moved in which made me a bit blind to its appealing ambiance, I guess. If I´m allowed to be a bit frank, I think it depends on my ability to be diligent in creating something that is relevant in the era we live in. For a long time, I felt tired of popping pastel mixes and "contemporary" wear and tear furniture from young Nordic furniture companies. Instead, I showed a new way to use the classic. Vertical proportions, white sculptures, art, some rediscovered design classics combined with a subtle colour palette. It turned out to be a success.
In 2009, Andreas Martin-Löf founded Andreas Martin-Löf Arkitekter (AML) that today has grown into a team of more than 20 architects, with a portfolio of award-winning projects, both private and public. The practice is driven by curiosity and a questioning mindset exploring the tension of man and space, past and future, hand and machine, function and feeling.
What is the most important to create a personal home?
A home mirrors you as much as your clothes, whether you like it or not, as it is the sum of an almost infinite number of conscious and unconscious choices. From that point of view, a home is, by definition, personal. My homes have all been quite different and reflected where I was in life at each occasion and to some extent what I had to spend in the wallet.
My advice is to try to have fun in and with your home. If you prefer go out dance or hike, then do it, and in that case do not have a bad conscience for not engaging in your homemaking. In the end, the saddest homes are the homes made solely to impress someone else.
You have also designed a lot of custom furniture that we see in this theme auction. Do you want to tell us about that process and how you started with it?
My first furniture I built already as a 12-year-old when I got my first own room and luckily for everyone they are not included in this auction. I think most of my own pieces derived from the fact that I did not find or afford to buy the furniture I wanted. Like so much else, those pieces were born out of a need. Some items have also been made out of coincidences, such as the big pendant lamp that I made out of leftover casting clamps from the construction of my beloved summer house. The little AML stool I found 10 years ago in a house that was to be demolished is another example. It took 8 years of reflection before I decided to make a new series of it together with Frama. For those who want to know more about how I think and how I develop my design and my architecture, I suggest they place a bid on my book, which is also sold in this auction, signed and dated.
Andreas Martin-Löf and his team of architects are often celebrated for their ability to work with an understated elegance and with the classic theme without falling into the trap of drawing historical pastiche. Andreas points out that historical understanding, consistency of approach and an interest in good craftsmanship are the three key words for their practise.
What characterizes an interesting home interior in your opinion?
A difficult and at the same time exciting question. Interiors that have grown for an extremely long time, I think can be interesting. Imagine how stones strain in a stream over time – that could be said for an interior that has been in a building for a long time. Things have found their natural place, bookshelves have been filled, furniture has been used, loved and received patina. It's hard not to think such a home is interesting. At the same time, I love looking at young homes. Often, the line of expensive sneakers in the hall or the bedroom is just as important as the ornament shelf once was for our grandmothers. When I look into a young home, I often see historical and contemporary references that interest me. Then I like homes with an attitude, exciting art, unexpected expressions, good craftsmanship and not least beauty. I have once said that I am probably an observer more than an architect - it is in that state of mind I find the answers when I´m drawing.
Right now, Andreas and his practice are double nominated for the prize "Stockholm Building of the Year 2020", firstly for Sweden's fastest modular housing system "Snabba Hus", this time in Råcksta and secondly for the large housing complex Balneum near the E4 highway in Gröndal. In Gothenburg they are about to complete floor 68–84 in Karlatornet, the tallest building in Scandinavia and in Stockholm Andreas draws on a number of private high-end projects.
Discover a curated theme auction by Andreas Martin-Löf, bid on design furniture and create your own personal style with the help of one of Sweden's foremost interiors.
