Hans Brattrud
Hans Brattrud: laminated forms and Norwegian furniture design
Hans Brattrud (1933 to 2017) was a Norwegian furniture designer and architect from Dokka. He trained in joinery before studying at the National School of Arts and Crafts in Oslo. Construction and form are closely connected in his furniture.
Scandia: from flat components to a three-dimensional chair
Scandia began as a student project in 1957. Brattrud used laminated wooden elements to build a curved seat and back. The openings between the slats contribute to the chair’s appearance while revealing its construction. The range developed into several seating types, including a stacking chair, lounge chair and easy chair.
Scandia Junior received a gold medal at the Deutsche Handwerksmesse in Munich in 1967 and the Norwegian Award for Design Excellence that year. These awards belong to the model’s history; they do not document the age or execution of an individual chair.
The National Museum of Norway’s acquisitions list records a Scandia Jr., inventory number NMK.2018.0423, manufactured by Hove Møbler and dated around 1960. This illustrates the difference between the model’s development in 1957 and the dating of a particular museum example. The museum’s approximate date should not be turned into a precise year of manufacture.
Further development and other models
Fjordfiesta subsequently continued the Scandia range and worked directly with Brattrud on the collection. Today’s Junior is described in moulded wood, including oak or walnut, with different base finishes. These specifications refer to that production and are not a complete account of materials used in older chairs.
The Scandia bar stool was developed with Brattrud in 2016. It shows how a recognisable family of forms can include much later designs. Applying 1957 as the design date of every product bearing the Scandia name would therefore be imprecise.
The Grorud chair, also called model 58, was designed in 1958 and made by A. Grasaasens Fabrikker. SNL describes the historical chair with turned wooden back spindles and a moulded laminated seat. Fjordfiesta’s current Grorud chair instead has a metal frame. The version must therefore be established before describing its materials. Comet also illustrates the breadth of Brattrud’s furniture work. A surviving drawing enabled him to confirm the Comet design’s date as 1958 in an interview with design historian Mats Linder.
Identifying and describing a Brattrud chair
Document the model, manufacturer and production period separately. Photograph the underside, markings, joints and complete base, and record dimensions and materials. An authorised later edition can be a legitimate Brattrud design without being an example from its first production.
For laminated chairs, describe cracks, opening glue joints, distortion and damage around attachments precisely. Examine veneer, finish and metal base as well, and disclose subsequent repairs or alterations. Similar form or wood species alone establishes neither manufacturer, age nor authorship.
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