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Norm Architects | Soft Minimalism

Posted on Mar 26, 2022

Multi-award winning design & architecture studio, Norm Architects, have developed product collections for some of the most established furniture and lighting brands, including L.Ercolani and Menu. The Copenhagen-based studio combine an unmistakably Scandinavian style, with soft minimalism, traditional craftsmanship and natural materials.

Founded in 2008, Norm Architects are a collective of 16 designers, architects and creative practitioners working across fields as diverse as industrial design, residential architecture, commercial interiors, photography and art direction.

Their collections uphold Modernist design principles of restraint and refinement. The design process begins with stripping the project back to its simplest form, whether it’s an architectural space, an object or an idea.

Each project is imbued with the same intrinsic quality: a simplicity that carries bigger ideas. Their aesthetic is infused with natural materials and tactile surfaces, with attention to every detail. Underpinning the studios ethos is an exploration of how material elements can elevate the human senses, with each of their designs intended to subtlety enhance wellbeing and daily life.

Reprise Chair for L.Ercolani

Designed by Norm Architects for L.Ercolani in 2020, the Reprise Chair is the result of expert craftsmanship in woodturning and steam bending. Combining L.Ercolani’s democratic approach to design with a classic Danish silhouette from the 1950s, Reprise pays homage to Lucian Ercolani’s original steam-bending technique.

The perfectly curved seat back comprises a series of vertical spindles, whilst the tapered legs are fixed in place with a singular piece of solid hardwood, finished with a leather or webbed fabric seat.

The Audo, Copenhagen

In the spring of 2019 Norm Architects joined forces with Copenhagen-based furniture and lighting brand Menu, to design a hybrid studio and showroom space in the Nordhavnen neighbourhood.

The unique concept for the Audo reflects the ever-changing intersection of home, work and hospitality in a single space which seeks to nurture community and collaborative ideas. This light-filled interior skilfully unites co-working and event space with a café, restaurant and concept store.

Pennon Dining Table for L.Ercolani

The Pennon Dining Table designed for L.Ercolani marries understated elegance with a timeless Scandinavian style. Pennon’s streamlined silhouette is comprised of bold geometric elements, with gently bevelled edges adding a softness to the overall form. Crafted from solid hardwood, this large dining table features an oval table top, combined with statement leg supports. Exquisitely crafted by skilled artisans, the Pennon Table is sure to become part of the home for generations to come.

Norm Architects subsequently led the creative direction of L.Ercolani’s new collection launch - photographed in situ by Christian Møller Andersen, at the brand’s Chiltern Hills studio in Buckinghamshire.

Wireless Illumination

The Carrie LED Lamp, designed by Norm Architects for Menu is a compact portable lamp, with adaptability in mind, the integrated handle allows the lamp to be moved to various different spaces around the home and can even be used outside. With a streamlined silhouette and lightweight portability (complete with USB charger), the Carrie LED Lamp boasts up to 10 hours of wireless illumination.

Wire Planter Collection for Menu

Inspiration for the Wire Planter collection, was derived from a Japanese garden the designers visited in L.A. The garden comprised both standing and suspended displays of plants, alongside Japanese trees and small fountains. This combination of natural elements and forms together became the starting point for the Wire Planter collection, designed by Norm Architects for Menu.

by Jennifer Ring

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