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At once an ode to Japan, a personal travelogue, and an aesthetic manifesto, Stillness, published by gestalten, takes readers on Norm Architects' decade-long journey as they’ve sought to understand one of the world’s most revered creative cultures.
This essay is featured in 'Stillness,' the new book from Norm Architects, published by gestalten. Hans Peter Dinesen represents the fifth generation of Danish wood manufacturer Dinesen (founded in 1898). Hans Peter Dinesen is an art and brand director, working across the family business to express a long tradition and passion for crafting wooden planks for flooring and interior objects.
Wood quietly reminds us that things are born, age, and perish. Time is read simply by touching the curved edge of an oak table or walking across a well-worn, grained floorboard. Containing hundreds of years of information, timber speaks the language of memory. Humankind has come to appreciate the poetry inherent to this ancient building material, and in the Nordics, from the Neolithic period (around 3900-1700 BCE) and the Viking age (around 800-1050 CE) to today, wood has become especially ubiquitous.
In Denmark, beech forests are native, while in Japan, cypress or sugi sweep the landscape. However, the link between the two cultures' reverence for wood runs deeper than a similar natural resource, with Japan's influence on Scandinavian timber construction being of particular significance. There is also a universal appeal at work: Hans Peter Dinesen explains that "we humans can recognize ourselves in wood. Wood has a skin that resembles our own. In the wrong climate, wood will dry out just as our own skin would ... The air carries wood's scent molecules. Wood speaks to all the senses and thus makes us feel safe and connected to a place."
Dinesen represents five generations of woodworkers whose passion for the strength and fragility of timber underpins his practice today. "We are now in the process of reestablishing connections to the Earth and the world. I believe we can learn from our ancestors' attitude toward nature and building culture. On the one hand, it's about moderation taking only what we need from nature and always ensuring there is something left for future generations. On the other hand, it requires a degree of humility and respect for that which is greater than us, along with an understanding that when we use natural materials, we must endeavor to use them carefully," Dinesen says. Such a sensitive approach to wood in architecture and design allows for profound connections between nature and humans." Some trees will be immortalized in the building culture and will have a longer life in the built environment than they did in the forest," Dinesen offers. "Experiencing a building that has been in the same place for centuries can evoke a similar reverence as encountering an ancient tree in the forest."
Dinesen's great-great-grandfather, a master builder, shared this philosophy, which continues to guide the company he founded: "You can strive for perfection, but nothing in this world must be perfect. So if you were to build a perfect building, you should finish by striking the last nail askew." His sentiment echoes the concepts of wabi and sabi, which originated 5,375 miles (8,650 kilometers) away in Japan.
Japan made a particularly deep impression on midcentury Scandinavian design during the Helsingborg exhibition of 1955 in Sweden, when Japan presented a traditional Japanese teahouse as its pavilion. Scandinavians responded to the simple, practical, and beautiful use of wood, bamboo, and paper, and the pavilion's influence has reverberated since. Danish architects, including Poul Kjerholm, Erik Christian Sorensen, and Erik Korshagen, experimented with similar applications of wood in their own homes, and these ideas then permeated Denmark's domestic architecture. The Bellevue Theatre by Arne Jacobsen with its bamboo cladding; Borge Mogensen's pine cupboards; and lectures about high-hipped thatched roofs by Kay Fisker furthered the appreciation for wood in the Nordics during the mid-20th century.
Japan's building tradition presents the value of living surrounded by wood, as does Dinesen's contemporary practice. For Hans Peter Dinesen, one of the most influential wooden houses was built by his grandfather in the 1970s from a fir tree struck by lightning. After six years of drying, the entire tree was reformed into a house: the structure, ceiling, windows, floors, furniture, and kitchenware. Dinesen reflects, "My grandfather had a vision that the house should live as long as the tree had taken to grow … Sometimes, we forget the origins of wood and impose our design ideas on the material, rather than letting the material influence our ideas. It's important to understand the nature of wood without expecting it to do things beyond its capabilities. Instead, we should work with it in a respectful manner, allowing its natural characteristics to bring joy to those who interact with it."
At once an ode to Japan, a personal travelogue, and an aesthetic manifesto, Stillness takes readers on Norm’s decade-long journey as they’ve sought to understand one of the world’s most revered creative cultures. Order Stillness now.
60.00 €
