Featuring architect Jens Martin Suzuki-Højrup and textile & interior designer Rika Kawato
Simple yet functional, and in harmony with nature. While they are closely connected with their respective cultures, Japanese and Danish designs have a lot in common. We have felt once again that Nychair X was designed with these common points in mind when we had the opportunity to visit Copenhagen, see the architecture and interiors, and observe the way of living. Even for a Japanese person visiting Denmark for the first time, the scenery seemed familiar, and the mutual influences that Japanese and Danish designers and architects have had on each other became clear.
A fusion of Japanese and Danish aesthetics presented in an exhibition space
Taking place in Copenhagen, 3daysofdesign is a design festival that is continuously growing in popularity. The 11th edition held in June 2024 was the first one for Nychair X, and we have presented the standard lineup as well as the 2024 Limited Edition model for the first time in Europe.
Nychair X was presented in Frederiksgade 1, in the heart of Copenhagen. This historical building, built in 1880, is a long-established design house with showrooms, galleries, and studios. During this year’s 3daysofdesign, Frederiksgade 1 hosted 43 brands and welcomed many design enthusiasts and professionals.
While Nychair X was of course a main focus, the booth design was also one of the highlights. The booth was created by two people: Jens Martin Suzuki-Højrup (Det Levende Hus), a Danish architect influenced in his work by Japanese culture and aesthetics, and Rika Kawato (tona LCC.), a designer of Nychair X Shikiri who has roots both in Denmark and Japan. They have teamed up to create a comforting space, and by using natural materials, colors, and even smells, they have shown Nychair X and nature intertwined. The bio-based materials used in the stand were dismantled after the show and moved to be reused in one of the construction projects in Denmark. Therefore, Jens, who practices environmental architecture, thought not only about the design itself, but also exercised consideration towards society and environment.
Design and architecture. Japan and Denmark, mutually influencing each other
After a successful event at 3daysofdesign, we sat on a train and went to the outskirts of Copenhagen with Jens and Rika. It took an additional 15 minutes by car, scenery gradually turning into vast green fields and the sky unobstructed by buildings, to get to a remote house.
The house is owned by a married couple living alone, and it is an example of Jens’ residential environmental architecture. 90 percent of the materials are derived from natural resources, and the simple structure makes it easy to repair. Compared to standard houses, the CO2 emissions related to construction were greatly reduced, and it receives a lot of attention as a revolutionary architectural piece. The outside appearance of the building, in harmony with the interior, shows influences from Japan.
“Engawa (a veranda that surrounds the entire house), sliding doors, or a stepping stone at the entrance are the examples of different influences from Japanese architecture and their design approach that I incorporate in my projects. Danish houses are big, and when the family grows, the typical response of the homeowners is simply to get a bigger house with more rooms, while Japanese houses are smaller, so the emphasis is on the optimal usage and multifunctionality of the space. If a house is big, inhabitants can separate and grow distant, and in a smaller house, they learn to be mindful and respectful of others. The solutions to make the most of the smaller space also require us to be creative. I have learned about the Japanese style of living through their architecture, and I wanted to apply this to my projects as well. Let’s take sliding doors, represented by Japanese fusuma, as an example. Compared to standard European doors, they take less space, and they have the functionality to fully connect two rooms into a larger one without any divisions. In this house, we have focused on how to live comfortably together in a smaller space.”
As per Jens’ words, there are not many divisions in the house. A spacious living and dining space is the main room, and only the bedroom and the bathroom are separate, making the layout rather simple. The open space overlooks the vast farmland and sky from the large windows on all sides, and the presence of the engawa, a traditional feature of Japanese houses, seamlessly blends the inside and outside even more. All these features really resonate with the concept of Nychair X Shikiri, which is based on the patterns of the traditional architectural partitions and is transferred to the canvas in the colors of Scandinavian landscapes and reminiscent of Japanese monochromatic ink paintings. Nychair X Shikiri series, designed by textile designer Rika Kawato, expresses the fusion of the two cultures in the way Jens’ design does, and it fits the house as if it had always belonged there.
Seeing how the chair is used in a Danish household, we have decided to talk once more with Rika about the concept of the series.
Here, we wanted to look back on Rika Kawato’s design concept of Nychair X Shikiri. In particular, on her choice of colors or color combinations that were heavily influenced by her own experiences and memories of the beautiful landscapes.
“The three colors of Nychair X Shikiri, namely Light Gray, Blue Gray and Dark Gray, were inspired by photos of a forest covered in mist taken by a Norwegian photographer, which looked just like ink paintings, and I built upon that inspiration. In order to create harmony between the colors used side by side, I was recalling my experience in a small town called Højer on the border between Denmark and Germany. I vividly remember the fantastic sky colors, that looked like rainbow and gold colors were mixed here and there with the gray gradation clouds that covered the sky on the cold winter day. From there, I created three variations that would not look out of place when placed together, by taking the three Shikiri colors and weaving threads of a one common color into them. As for the patterns, I have found the inspiration in the beauty and harmony of various lattice patterns seen on the floors, walls and ceilings in Japanese Buddhist temples and traditional houses. I have applied difference lattice patterns to each color, and I think it’s even more beautiful when all three of them are together.”
Sharing the life with Nychair X with the world
Jens actually uses Nychair X in his own home as well. His friends seem to have taken a liking to it, too, and when he invites them over, some of them go straight to the chair to sit in it. Because of that, it was natural for him to try to incorporate Nychair X into the house he had worked on. He talks more about the common points shared by Nychair X and his architecture.
“Nychair X can be folded, so it does not use much space, and it can be moved easily, so it does not need a fixed spot. The three colors of the Shikiri series’seat can be chosen or even changed based on the interior. This flexibility is of great merit. Additionally, both Nychair X and this house are characterized by functionality and repairability. I think they embody the ‘long-life product’ phrase.”
The house owner, Hanna, sits beside Jens in Nychair X Shikiri and talks with him, and later she takes the chair outside with her; it seems she immediately enjoys it.
“It is more comfortable than I expected. I also find the simple lines and forms of the design beautiful. In our previous house, I had many furniture pieces in black, but because I wanted to create a more peaceful environment here to match the surroundings, I chose a lighter, natural color palette. This chair fits our home quite well, I think.”
It’s been the first time for us to visit a Danish house designed by Jens, and Rika Kawato, seeing how the chair she designed integrates into everyday life, felt once more the appeal of Nychair X.
“I had been listening to Jens’s thoughts on architecture for some time, and I have always felt that his worldview was very similar to the one that stands behind Nychair X Shikiri. And today, I could experience this by seeing his architecture and the chair sharing the same space. Sunlight coming through the skylights, fields visible from the wide windows, a roofed terrace with engawa, from which you can enjoy the outdoors even in the rain—it’s the architecture that works with nature. At first, I thought that small and light form of Nychair X will stand out compared to other pieces of furniture in the house; but later I thought, that Denmark is a country that is also leading the way in environmental protection, and the public is very conscious about the environment. Therefore, Nychair X, which does not use many materials and can be used for a long time with repairs, may be a new type of furniture that suits the way we live in the future.”
Nychair X designer Takeshii Nii is said to have been greatly influenced by Danish furniture design, and the brand’s supervisor, Makoto Shimazaki studied design as a researcher at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and that is why they first met. Additionally, the chair’s name, created by Shimazaki, was not only made to incorporate an element similar to the sound of the designer’s name, but it also contains a reference to the Danish word “ny”, meaning “new” in English; the connection between Denmark and Japan has been strong in Nychair X since the beginning.
Now, over 50 years later, we can see Nychair X effortlessly blended into the Danish lifestyles. During this visit, through encounters with Jens’ architecture, Rika’s Nychair X Shikiri, and the people living in the house, we were reminded of the way Japan and Denmark have influenced each other over the years. Going forward, we would like to continue to have such encounters not only in Denmark, but also in other countries, and gain new insights, to convey what values Nychair X represents and pass them on to the future.
Jens Martin Suzuki-Højrup
He studied architecture and interior design in both Denmark in Japan and established his own studio called Jens Martin - Architecture & Design in 2020. Having been inspired by both countries, in 2021 he and Carsten Erichsen also started a new architectural design studio Det Levende Hus that creates user-friendly, flexible, and environmentally friendly houses.
Det Levende Hus
https://www.detlevendehus.dk/
Rika Kawato
She works in a variety of fields, from creating the concept of Nychair X Shikiri to textile and coloring design. With a Japanese father and a Danish mother, she spent her childhood in a diverse range of countries and cultures, including the former Soviet Union and Sweden, and the fusion of different cultures is the root of her designs. She is active both in Japan and overseas, with designs that value color and texture.
tona
https://tona.rikakawato.com/