Even before finishing his master in Spatial Design at Konstfack, the University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm, Jonathan Hultgren makes his debut as a furniture designer with The Princess, a meticulously finished indoor seat. He began his studies at HDK, the Academy of Art and Design at the University of Gothenburg, and then enjoyed an internship at the Danish architect studio Norrøn as well as Wingårdhs in Sweden.
”The theme for my master exam is involuntary loneliness and especially how public space in Sweden has been neglected. I’m looking at an old boule court, here in Stockholm, that is used by retired people for balance gymnastics: an improvised setting instead of a commercial pre-fab solution.”
Jonathan has like many other students been affected by the pandemic with only a few hour sin school. The chance to participate in a competition in the Swedish municipality of Karlshamn gave him the occasion to transform his research into a manifest product. Winning the first price, the jury member Johan Lindau immediately made The Princess into yet another design that brings people together.
Any bets on the next big Netflix killer?
”I believe Machines Like Me by Ian McEwans. It tells the fictional life of an Alan Turing who doesn’t commit suicide after the Second World War but continue to pioneer artificial intelligence making the UK a precociously computerised country way ahead of time.”
A public place you miss here in Sweden?
”We need lots of çay bahçesi, these Turkish tea gardens that are semi-public spaces where you can bring your own food but buy any sorts of beverages, and open 24/7.”
