Finnish designer Mikko Laakkonen and Spanish designer Andreu Carulla teamed up to create a renewed interior for the Spanish Embassy in Helsinki to mark 100 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries in the field of design and diplomacy.
The pair met during Helsinki Design Week 2017 during an event entitled “Design Diplomacy”, where they held a discussion at Villa Himberg, now the Spanish ambassador’s official residence in Finland. Speaking to the designers after the event, ambassador Mr. Manuel de la Camara commissioned Andreu Carulla and Mikko Laakkonen to design a new interior for the embassy to mark 100 years of diplomatic relations between Finland and Spain.
The project started soon after, with the designers going to each other’s respective countries over the following months to research each other’s cultures, meet with manufacturers, and design new collections. With both Finnish and Spanish influences, materials and manufacturing techniques in mind, the resulting work is a bench and sofa manufactured by Made by Choice (Finland) that feature ash wood and traditional latticework, and stools and side tables manufactured by Mobles 114 (Spain) that feature terracotta and cork. These fill the living space at Villa Himberg, the Spanish Embassy in Helsinki. These pieces will be introduced during Helsinki Design Week 2018 and will then be a permanent part of the embassy’s furnishings.
