installation view of ‘be honest!’ by artek and marimekko at spiral garden, tokyobe honest! by artek and marimekko at: spiral garden, tokyo from: september 10 – 23, 2008

for finnish design houses artek and marimekko, sustainability in design is a combination of high quality, longevity and a strong ideology of true design. now the two are coming together at spiral garden in tokyo to present their approach in an exhibition entitled ‘be honest!’

this year artek celebrates the 75th aniversary of stool 60, desiged by architect alvar aalto in 1933. to pay tribute to the classic archetype of functional furniture, artek is putting together an installation along with inviting international creators such as shigeru ban, tom dixon, harri koskinen and yukiharu tekmatsu to design their own version of the alvar aalto stool.

in juxtaposition to the installation, marimekko presents a mix of classic and new prints which reflect the company’s concept of good design, exemplifying longevity and timelessness. the world-renowned classics from the 1950s and 1960s are still as topical today as they were when they were first created. a similar installation was seen at milan design week 2008, when artek stacked alvar aalto’s stools to create dynamic walls and partitions to divide up their booth.

for the duration of the exhibition, the spiral café will be turned into a milkbar where visitors are invited to experience the feel of sustainable design with aalto’s iconic stool in black and white alongside marimekko’s cow designs.

'be honest!' by artek and marimekko at spiral garden, tokyo stool 60 by alvar aalto, 1933'be honest!' by artek and marimekko at spiral garden, tokyo kaivo pattern by marimekko, 1964

related: see designboom’s snapshot report of artek at milan design week 2008 more: http://www.artek.fi http://www.marimekko.fi http://www.spiral.co.jp — via david report