胡同里的瑞典设计师
Max Gerthel/晓麦
晓麦Max来自瑞典，在丹麦皇家美术学院获得建筑学硕士学位，2008年来到北京，2010年定居在胡同里，吸引他的其实还有一位东方的姑娘，现在他们已经有两个幸福的小家伙了。
Max学建筑，做空间设计，也做家具设计，起因可能是从小在父母的家具商店里耳濡目染，接触了非常多的北欧设计家具。目前正在和 造作 合作，已经推出了“8点椅”和“随行桌”。
▼工作室位于一栋老的四合院内
▼椅子小模型，简单的材料，迅速获得直观的设计感受
▼Max的工作桌，他坐着的就是”8点椅“的第一次打样实物
▼这把椅子是max从胡同里抢救回来的，给它重新换了坐垫
发现时上面堆着垃圾，风吹雨淋，没人知道 它的来历，Max一眼看出它是瑞典五六十年代的东西，用的是那个时代北欧非常流行的层板弯曲技术，如何来到北京胡同，至今仍是个迷
▼旁边对应放的是中国五六十年代的经典“单位椅”
▼房子主体结构保留，只有墙面做了处理
▼两把中国民间的凳子
▼他的部分空间设计，以及为空间设计的椅子
▼一米九几的修长身材，帅气的Max
YIIZ：你觉得一件好的家具的标准是什么？
Max：因为用途不同，好家具标准也不同，但不论挤牛奶的矮凳，写书法的高桌，还是电视机前里那个能让你在劳累一天后舒服的窝着的大沙发，好的家具应该是在某一种情况下最大程度满足使用者需求的物件。甚至在使用过程中你完全察觉不到它，如果你总是把注意力放在你坐着的椅子上，那它一定是不够舒服。每一件家具，在不同的使用情况下，都会反映出其某些特性；反过来把这些特性集合在一起，也就成了家具本身（比如一张便宜的折叠椅不应该和贵重品储存柜有一样的作用）。但好家具的共同点是：设计者精心考虑它们的用途，满怀爱心严谨的设计出来，制作精良，并且环保。
YIIZ：每次你设计家具的出发点是需求还是设计灵感？
Max：我喜欢从一个具体的环境开始构思家具：一所房子或一个空间。所有的家具都隶属于这个大的空间，从这里开始——空间和建筑的整体氛围，用料和颜色，用户需求和意愿等等。目前为止所有我设计和制作的家具都是给具体客户或者具体项目的，这些人和项目就是我寻找灵感的来源。到中国后我也设计了一些融合了中国语言的作品，因为我也处在这个语境之中。
YIIZ：从建筑空间设计到家具设计，有一些共同的地方吧？
Max：对我来说两者是一样的，至少我自己的角度和我的设计进程是这样的。当然我也很欣赏两者不同的地方；比如建筑设计更加复杂，并且从设计初稿到完成建筑耗费了了大量的人力，精力。当这个建筑被建成之后，它就是一幢不可以挪到任何其他地方的物体。设计家具的过程就相对短些，同时也是一个持续进行的过程：在生产过程中产品可以进行相应的调整和改变，并且如果是一件好的产品，它可能会被一直投产很多年。
YIIZ：会因为工艺难度或生产成本改变最初的设计方案吗？
Max：只要最初的概念和设计价值是不变的，我可以为了生产或者市场需要而妥协。我并不认为自己是个“大师”，比其他人懂得更多，但是重要的是不要丢掉设计中闪光的部分，不要还没有全力争取就放弃你的想法。
YIIZ：遇到过设计打样完成后，不是自己想要的而放弃吗？
这种事情也会发生，但是我通常是修改设计而不是直接就放弃了。只要还有我认为值得继续下去的，我就会一直尝试。
YIIZ：你怎么看中国的传统家具？
Max：中国传统家具可以美到极致，特别是简约的线条与形状同复杂的匠人工艺与细节的相结合。明代最好的家具就能够将外形，比例，用料与功能的结合完美的展现出来。它们甚至可以被认为是人类文明历史上最重要的文化表现形式，这也是为什么世界各国的博物馆都争相收藏它们。
不幸的是，这些文化遗产在中国被忽略了很久，已经没有很多的匠人在世能够继承发扬这些传统了。中国目前缺失的是能够有效地将这些传统工艺和现代工业生产相结合，而这正是欧洲各国在很久以前就开始发展的了。比如18世纪维也纳的弯木咖啡椅，四五十年代阿尔瓦·阿尔托和阿诺·雅布格森的薄木家具。
YIIZ：你对中国目前的设计师家具品牌了解吗？哪些是你比较喜欢的？
Max：我了解一些产品很有趣的品牌，比如品物、半木、梵几、失物招领和一些其他的。中国市场的庞大，必然还会有很多，但是所有的品牌都面临着同样的问题。中国的家具市场主要是由许多小的代工厂组成的，它们可以从任何人手中接订单，你根本不知道下个月会发生什么。中国需要的是一些能够自己建加工厂的企业家，有自己的生产资料和设计。这样就可以让产品的范围更加广泛，并且能够探求更多的可能性。市场是有的，但是生产者寻求利益的短见局限了他们有机生产的可能性。他们不是抄袭名牌产品的设计来制作质量很差的复制品，就是在极小范围内为高端人士做私人定制。
像“造作”这样我合作的公司，至少有在尝试向大众人群传递一些关于设计本身的价值，并且介绍一些简单、当代、功能性好的生活方式。这并不能够成一场革命，但至少是向正确的方向发展的。
YIIZ：what do you think is the standard for a piece of good furniture?
Max： A good piece of furniture can be many things: A stool for sitting on when milking the cows, a high table for writing calligraphy or a big sofa to slouch and relax in front of the tv while winding down from a long day at work. In every situation, the furniture should support your activity and your actions in the best possible way, so that you don't have to think about them. If you think too much about the chair you are sitting on, it's most likely because you are not sitting comfortably. A good piece of furniture can be recognised by a combination of several properties which are different for each situation (for example a cheap foldable chair shouldn't perform in the same way as a cabinet for your most valuable things). But the common thing is that there was someone who thought about how it should be used, who designed every detail with love and care and that it was produced in high-quality materials and with respect for the environment.
YIIZ：what is the starting point every time you design a furniture, the need? or some inspiration?
Max：I like to start my process with a specific context: a house or a space. Every piece of furniture fits into a bigger context, and in my process I like to start there. The ambience of the space and the architecture, the materials and colours, the needs and desires of the users. All of the furniture I have designed and produced so far have been for specific clients or projects, and that's where I find my inspiration. Here China I have designed pieces that adopt a Chinese language, this is part of the context that influences me.
YIIZ：from architecture design to furniture design, what is in common?
Max： For me they are the same, at least my own approach and the design process. But I also appreciate the differences; architecture is much more complex involving a lot of people and can take years to realize from first design to finished building. When it is finished, it will be a single entity which cannot be built anywhere else. The process of designing furniture can be shorter, but it is also an ongoing process: the product can be adapted, developed and changed while the production is still going on, and if it is a good product it can stay in production for many many years.
YIIZ：Will you change your orignial design/idea because the craftship is too complicated, or the production cost is too high?
Max： As long as the original concept and values of the design are kept, I am willing to compromise for the sake of production or even market demand. I don't see myself as a 'master' who knows more than everyone else, but it's important not to lose the essence of the design, or to give up without fighting for what you believe in.
YIIZ：Have you ever given up after you find out that the prototype of your design does not match what your idea?
Max： Of course it happens, but I usually try to modify the design rather giving up. If there is something I think is worth continuing with, I will keep trying.
YIIZ：what do you think of the traditional furniture of China?
Max： Chinese traditional furniture can be extraordinarily beautiful, especially the combination of simplicity in the shapes and lines together with complexity in the joinery and the details. The best Ming style furniture express a union of form, proportion, materiality and function that can be argued to be one of the most significant cultural s of humanity. This is also why these pieces are collected by museums and all over the world.
Unfortunately this heritage was long neglected in China, and now there are not many skilled craftsmen left to continue the tradition. What China so far has missed is a combination of these traditions and industrial production, something that many European countries developed a long time ago, for example the Viennese bentwood café chairs in of the 1800's or the laminated wood furniture of Alvar Aalto and Arne Jacobsen in the 1940's and 50's.
YIIZ：do you know anything about the Chinese furniture design brands? Anything you like?
Max：I know a few brands that do interesting work: 品物，半木，梵几，失物招领, and a few more. Considering the size of China there could be a lot more, but they all face the same problem. The furniture industry in China is mainly made up of a lot of small factories that don't have their own brands, they take orders from anyone without knowing what will happen next month. What China needs is entrepreneurs who are investing in their own factories, their own machines and their own designs so that range of production can be widened and the possibilities explored. The market is there, but the short-term-sightedness of the producers has limited the possibilities to either making cheap copies of famous designs in poor quality, or exclusive, crafted furniture for a small elite.
Companies like 造作 that I am working with are at least trying to get ordinary people more aware of the value of design, and introducing a simple, contemporary, functional lifestyle. It's not a revolution, but a step in the right direction.
图：椅子君 翻译：一贝（订阅号：如果咖啡馆）
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