The loft of Harri and Astrid in Weil am Rhein, Germany, is the perfect fusion of their Finnish and German heritage: easy, understated and practical. A musician and set designer, respectively, they've blended their passions harmoniously, building a space for work, rest and entertaining that is full of light and life. Along the way they've been guided by a tenet of the legendary Finnish designer Alvar Aalto, that 'every house should be a fruit of our endeavour to build an earthly paradise for people'.
Harri and Astrid are, of course, fictional characters. They represent the shared values of Artek and Vitra, the two contemporary design brands that joined forces last autumn. Ilse Crawford of Studioilse curated the design of the loft, atop VitraHaus in Weil am Rhein, not only to celebrate Vitra's recent acquisition of Artek - founded by Aalto - but to portray the collections as they are in life, not as artworks behind glass.
The loft will be open to the public all year, as an extension of the Vitra campus.
The home of Harri (a musician) and Astrid (a set designer) is also their joint studio
A quiet corner in the VitraHaus loft
Crawford's domestic tableaux are a response to a request from Nora Fehlbaum of Vitra and Mirkku Kullberg of Artek to bring the two brands to life in the loft installation
At the centre of the studio is a joint desk, where Harri and Astrid can work at either end
Alongside items from the back catalogues of Vitra and Artek, Crawford filled the loft with personal items that communicate the couple's creative lifestyle
The loft is loosely divided into a studio and a living area, which is anchored by a long dining table that could serve multiple purposes
An assortment of chairs collected over the years circle the long dining table
The upright piano, next to the drinks trolley, is used for spontaneous performances at parties
A history of the Vitra and Artek collections is arranged among books and objects from this fictional lifestyle
A grand piano in the studio nods to Harri's work in music
A studio wall faced in corkboard is used as a moodboard by both residents
Next to Harri's easels and beneath his recent artwork is an Artek trolley, designed by Alvar Aalto. The Vitra 'Suita' daybed was designed by Antonio Citterio
The trolley doubles as an artist's workstation
ADDRESS
Ray Eames Strasse
1 D-79576
Weil am Rhein
Germany
-
Wild sauna, anyone? The ultimate guide to exploring deep heat in the UK outdoors‘Wild Sauna’, a new book exploring the finest outdoor establishments for the ultimate deep-heat experience in the UK, has hit the shelves; we find out more about the growing trend
-
Highlights from the transporting Cruise 2026 showsThe Cruise 2026 season began yesterday with a Chanel show at Lake Como, heralding the start of a series of jet-setting, destination runway shows from fashion’s biggest houses
-
Behind the design of national pavilions in Venice: three studios to knowDesigning the British, Swiss and Mexican national pavilions at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 are three outstanding studios to know before you go
-
Vitra unveils new London home in the Tramshed, ShoreditchLondon Design Festival 2022: after a year-long renovation, Vitra opens the door to its new showroom in the heart of Shoreditch
-
Tracing the radical evolution of domestic interior designVitra Design Museum presents ‘Home Stories: 100 Years, 20 Visionary Interiors,’ a major exhibition that celebrates the power of interior design in the last century
-
Designart Tokyo transforms the city into a living, multi-sensory museumThe third edition of the fair (18-27 October) showcases over 100 exhibitions across the Japanese capital
-
Artek’s midcentury icons given a new look by Heath Ceramics -
Loom large: ‘The Veil’, by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, and Lesage Intérieurs -
Hot house: feeling the heat at Casa Perfect, LA’s smouldering new design showcase -
Machine age: a new show explores the blurring boundaries between humans and robots -
Jasper Morrison dresses a VitraHaus apartment for a fictional abstract artist
