snøhetta reinterprets the traditional sloyd bench for sawaya & moroni

snøhetta celebrates craftsmanship with the sloyd bench, a limited-edition console that takes its cues from the traditional, nordic carpenter’s bench. designed for furniture company sawaya & moroni, the bench aims to highlight the importance of manual labour in an era when everything seems to be focused on technological processes and virtual reality.

images © sawaya & moroni

‘we decided to create something reminiscent from our collective past, a tool for creation,’ explains snøhetta of the reinterpretation of the sloyd bench for sawaya & moroni. the bench is traditionally used since the 1800’s in nordic schools to help students develop practical skills and express cultural and aesthetic values. seeing it as an archetype for every work of craftsmanship, the architects translated its form into a console fit for the domestic scale, designed as an everyday reminder of manual labour’s values and its heritage.

a view into the showroom
image © designboom