When the new Edvard Munch Museum in Oslo opened in October 2021, Vestre welcomed visitors with elegant seating and tables designed by Andreas Engesvik and Jonas Stokke, specifically produced for the museum. Now, Vestre presents more versatile versions of the sofas, lounge armchairs, and chairs in the Munch series.
The Munch series arose from Vestre being the winner of a national design competition that was announced in 2017 for the construction of the spectacular 58-meter-high waterfront landmark in Bjørvika, Oslo.
When Engesvik and Stokke started working on the project, they initially focused on designing a single bench, but soon the designers saw how the design could be expanded to also include a café chair, a lounge chair, and a table. The cafe chairs and tables can now be found in the restaurant and bar at the top floor of the museum, as well as in the cafe on the ground floor, while the benches and lounge chairs are scattered around the museum’s 13 floors. In 2021, the Munch series was named the winner of the DOGA label, a highly prestigious Norwegian design and architecture award.
In the spring of 2023, the seating furniture is launched in new versions with comfortable armrests, which contribute to increased ease of use, comfort, and accessibility. This means that the Munch furniture can be adapted in more ways for different interiors and needs.
The sofas and chairs consist of layers of elastic steel mesh draped over a simple steel frame and are available with or without molded wool textile cushions. The three elements all have properties that contribute to the function and design of the furniture: the weight of the frame helps make the furniture stable, the steel mesh adapts to the body for maximum ergonomics and the cushions contribute to comfort and a warm and tactile feeling. The sofa and lounge chair can be had with or without molded cushions.
Like all Vestre products, the furniture in the Munch series is created to last for generations – which is sustainability in the truest sense of the word.
”All the stainless steel parts have been welded together, galvanized and finally painted, with no screws or other parts that can come loose. This makes them extremely robust, durable, and adapted to withstand the toughest of conditions both indoors and outdoors. With the right maintenance, they can be used for hundreds of years”, says designer Jonas Stokke.
All of Vestre’s furniture is made of hot-dip galvanized Swedish steel, is available in around 200 RAL colors, and has a lifetime guarantee against rust.
Product Information Lounge Chair
Design: Andreas Engesvik & Jonas Stokke
Dimensions: H:72 cm D:76 cm W:71 cm
Weight: 23,8 kg
Material: Hot-dip galvanized Swedish steel, cushions in wool
Color: Blue, also available in Vestre´s 200 standard colors
Price: From 1 050 EUR
Product Information Sofa
Design: Andreas Engesvik & Jonas Stokke
Dimensions: H:41 cm D:57 cm W:2 m
Weight: 35 kg
Material: Hot-dip galvanized Swedish steel,
cushions in wool
Color: Blue, also available in Vestre´s 200 standard colors
Price: From 1 420 EUR
For high-resolution images, visit Grand Relations Image Bank.
For interview requests or more information, please contact Tove Regnander, Partner & Senior PR Advisor,
Grand Relations | tove@grandrelations.com I +46 76 785 58 01
About Andreas Engesvik and Jonas Stokke
Andreas Engesvik has a bachelor’s degree in art history and a master’s degree in design. In 2000, Engesvik helped create the design group Norway Says, and since 2009 he has run his own design agency. He has won a number of awards nationally and internationally.
Jonas Ravlo Stokke has a master’s degree in industrial design from the School of Architecture and Design in Oslo. In 2007, together with Øystein Austad, he started the design agency StokkeAustad. They have won several awards, including the prestigious Wallpaper Design Award 2010 and the Red Dot Best of the Best.
About Vestre
Vestre is one of Scandinavia’s leading producers of urban furniture and has created social, sustainable meeting places for millions of people for over 70 years. Sustainability, locally produced materials, and the least possible environmental impact are pivotal to the company’s furniture production. Vestre is a Norwegian family business, the products are manufactured in Norway and Sweden, and are available in almost 200 different colours with a lifetime anti-rust warranty.
The factory in Torsby in Värmland, Sweden was designed by architectural firm Snøhetta, which is behind many high-profile international projects, including the library in Alexandria, the 9/11 Memorial Center in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Oslo Opera House. The firm also designed “The Peace Bench”, which Vestre and Hydro created in 2019 on behalf of the Nobel Peace Center. Vestre has been voted “Brand Builder of the Year” by the Federation of Norwegian Industries and cited as the “Best for outdoor furniture” by the prestigious design and lifestyle magazine Monocle, which has readers worldwide. In 2019, the company was voted “Entrepreneur of the Year” at the Norwegian EY gala. In January 2020, Vestre was awarded their 16th DOGA award by Design and Architecture Norway. The company was given the award for its partnership with Front in the creation of Folk. In February 2020, Vestre was awarded “Best Stand” at the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair in Stockholm for its sustainable stand, developed together with Note Design Studio.
The opening of Vestre´s new factory The Plus Colour and Wood Factory in Magnor Norway took place in June 2022. The factory, which has been designed by the leading architect firm Bjarke Ingels Group, is the most environmentally friendly furniture factory in the world and is also the largest investment in the Norwegian furniture industry for decades.
Read more at vestre.com and theplus.no