June 2nd 1010, I approach Belgrade from the sky, over green fields, rain-clouds, grey cityscape and cold air. My first impression is - ugh! I am greeted by my hostesses and the rest of the crew and immediately flowers start blooming in my mind. Life is everywhere, and after a few days I leave with an energy boost and a great lift in spirits. I am sad to go but I am sure to return. Belgrade is alive!"
Claesson Koivisto Rune is a Swedish architectural partnership, founded in 1995 by Mårten Claesson, Eero Koivisto and Ola Rune. It started as an architectural firm, but has since become a multi-disciplinary office with an equal emphasis on both architecture and design. Ola Rune presented their work at Belgrade Design Week 2010.
Mårten Claesson, Eero Koivisto and Ola Rune met in 1992 as students at University College of Arts in Stockholm. The trio´s strong desire to connect space and objects inspired them to complement their studies from University College of Arts with architectural studies at Parsons School of Design in New York City, Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation in Copenhagen and Aalto University in Helsinki.
The office’s work spans from private villas and luxury hotels to furniture, jewellery and cement tiles. Represented and produced in Sweden, Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain, UK, Uruguay and USA. Their architectural language has been called “the epitome of the aesthetics of the new millennium” (Paola Antonelli, Design Curator at MoMA). Claesson Koivisto Rune are the subject of 21 biographical publications, and their works appear in some 130 design/architecture books.
Claesson Koivisto Rune were the first Swedish architectural office to be invited to exhibit at the international section of the Venice Biennale of architecture in 2004. They are also responsible for award-winning projects such as the Tind Prefab House collection for Fiskarhedenvillan, Sfera Building culture house in Kyoto and Nobis Hotel in Stockholm.
As designers they have been awarded an array of international awards and recognitions, amongst them the Designpreis Deutchland (Gold and Silver) 2011 by the Federl Republic of Germany, Designer of the Year 2011 and Furniture of the Year 2012 by Elle Deco Sweden, both Designer of the Year and Best Seating 2014 by Elle Decor Italia, and the Red Dot Design Award – Best of the Best 2014, making them the first office to hold the prestigious Red Dot Design Award in five different product categories, architecture included. In 2015 they received the Bruno Mathsson Award, the highest honour in furniture design in Sweden and the Scandinavian region.
During Tokyo design festival Design Art in 2018, Claesson Koivisto Rune presented their first art exhibition: Faciem – In search of the essence of the grid.
