nola produces durable harads seating collection straight from the swedish woods

nola produces durable harads seating collection straight from the swedish woods
image © johan kauppi

designers johan kauppi and bertil harström have designed the ‘harads furniture collection’ produced by the swedish company nola. the set consists of unpretentious forms and variants of straight and circular benches, platforms and boxes. the aim of the project was to create a simple yet powerful design idiom characterized by its durability. the objects all follow the same principle: a floating wooden beam supported by steel tubes with adjustable special fittings. their simplicity makes them equally suitable for public interior environments, as well as for outdoors on school playgrounds, squares, and parks.

overview illustration showing the various entities in the ‘harads collection’ 
image © johan kauppi

the smaller benches come in various lengths and can be mounted at different heights to form groups, repetitions or combinations. the platforms are ideal for hanging out in urban areas or activity parks, as well as placed by the coastline. as for the boxes, they can serve as temporary shelters, placed in green areas, or for framing a piece of scenery. the collection’s excellent weather resistance require low maintenance and are made to last a lifetime.

the system is based on the simple idea of using glulam beams to sit on
image © johan kauppi

the anchoring of the ‘harads collection’ can be made both with traditional foundations below ground, or with a ground anchor or screw that provides minimal impact to sensitive environments. on hard surfaces such as concrete or rock, the tubes can be connected with expansion screws or by pre-drilling. the system can be adjusted to different settings, making this one another fundamental part of its design.

the beams can be composed creatively in groups with different heights and lengths
image © johan kauppi

the larger platforms are ideal as furniture that just hang out together
image © johan kauppi

the large boxes weighing more than a ton each paradoxically give a light impression 
image © johan kauppi

the boxes are pavilions that can provide shelter or a place for a picnic out in nature
image © johan kauppi

this picture taken in kungälv in sweden shows a box framing a piece of landscape
image © johan kauppi 

another photo from the municipality of kungälv in sweden where the boxes are placed along a nature walk
image © johan kauppi

adjustability of the system is a fundamental part of the design to make installation and maintenance easy over time
image © johan kauppi

a furniture group installed individually as a little secret in a dense forest grove in alnarp municipality in sweden
image © johan kauppi 

the traditional swedish large-scale glulam production manages elements for building and construction
image © svanthe harström

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: juliana neira | designboom