Acoustic objects in hemp · Stockholm, Sweden
by OKKO
Hemp, braided, folded and shaped: a wall relief by Anna von Schewen, a room divider by Synnöve Mork and a hanging pendant by Monica Förster, all made to absorb sound.
Okko, the Stockholm interior design company Marja-Liisa Okko founded in 1995, has specialised in acoustic environments since 2005. With some of Scandinavia’s most prominent designers it creates products that improve a room’s sound and its interior design alike, made from natural materials such as hemp and peat, with a negative carbon footprint.
Hemp’s sound-absorbing properties are of the highest quality. Okko’s hemp panels reach sound absorption class A without an air gap, were measured at VTT, Finland’s national testing laboratory, and carry the Finnish M1 classification for very low indoor emissions.
“Silence must be preserved.”
Okko is an international interior design company specialising in sustainable, innovative acoustic solutions that unite form and function – for private homes as much as museums, auditoriums, restaurants and libraries. Its founder, Marja-Liisa Okko, was born and raised in Finland; her fascination with how sound and unwanted noise affect people led her to acoustic design.
Acoustic wall panel
Anna von Schewen
A sound-absorbing wall panel and acoustic artwork. With hemp’s soft, flexible nature – reminiscent of both a gentle textile and a firm paper – Anna von Schewen achieves volume and an airy, sculptural sense of calm and light energy; the ends of the lines are joined in a braid system of her own.
Acoustic room divider
Synnöve Mork
A flexible, lightweight sound absorber for open offices and other open spaces, used as a folding wall on the floor or hung from wires, alone or several in a row. The shape came from folded paper: “Hemp has a bit of paper’s directness, while it has all the benefits needed to absorb sound,” says Synnöve Mork.
Acoustic pendant
Monica Förster
A hanging sound absorber and sculptural piece of acoustic art, built from several hemp sheets. Monica Förster started from flat hemp fibre sheets and experimented with folding them into three-dimensional shapes; the shells show the beauty of the natural fibre. Recyclable, flat-packed and easy to hang.
Acoustic pendant lamp
Ingegerd Råman
A pendant lamp of hemp that improves the acoustic environment while floating lightly and elegantly in the room. The name reflects both its sound-absorbing function and its airy design.
Acoustic wall panel
Ingegerd Råman
Two absorbers of peat fibre, harvested directly from nature, joined with cavities in two layers: the smaller holes repeat strictly, the larger ones are drawn entirely by hand. The name comes from the knowledge that cavities swallow sound.
Parallel Lines
Anna von Schewen founded her design studio in Stockholm in 1997 and is recognised as one of Sweden’s most progressive and experimental designers. Her work spans furniture and objects, exhibition design, interiors and architecture.
Zig Zag
Synnöve Mork mainly develops products in textile materials, for well-known clients in Sweden and around the world – from bed linen, cushions and curtains to rugs and room dividers. Stripes, checks and dots are her favourite patterns.
Shell
Monica Förster has designed some of the most internationally known objects in contemporary Swedish design. Raised near the Arctic Circle, she pairs a strong sense of pure form with a never-ending curiosity about new materials and technology; her awards include Designer of the Year and the Golden Chair.
Silent Light, Sound Of Silence
Ingegerd Råman is one of Sweden’s foremost designers, creating timelessly beautiful objects in ceramics and glass since the late 1960s, in perfect harmony between function, beauty and material. She has long been interested in the acoustics of public spaces, where the sound environment is often overlooked.
