Torbjørn Bekken

The Norwegian designer Torbjørn Bekken (1919-2009) graduated from the National Academy of Craft and Art Industry in 1946. Fresh from school he was picked up by the progressive furniture and interior design company Rastad & Relling Tegnekontor, where he worked for most of his career. They were known for spotting design talents and their hands-on understanding of how the market worked. Together with companies like Bruksbo Designstudio, Rastad & Relling were one of the pioneers in shaping the Norwegian design scene after the Second World War.

Bekken played a significant part in the design trends of the 1950-60s. All Scandinavian countries had a love for wood and it was the obvious choice at the time. Bekken was a person who got his influence from pure function in combination with interior styles. He was also a man that liked technical challenges; machines were never a restriction, but a way to reach the masses. He has a solid production to his name, but is still relatively unknown. It seems like he didn’t seek the spotlight, but rather preferred to work quietly behind the scenes.

Country

  • Norway

Design for

Torbjørn Afdal

Tord Boontje

Thanks

This website is dedicated to all those people who, in one way or another, have helped this project/dream/desire to begin and take shape.

Special thanks to my wife and my parents for supporting me, to Cristina Escarrà and Alfonso Pérez Rosales for generously sharing with me their experience as agents, to those clients who, in one way or another, have given me wise advice, to the brands that have placed their trust in me, and to Gonzalo, my godfather, who, with his always generous help, and guiding me throughout this process, is largely to blame for the fact that I can boast of being an “entrepreneur”.

Thanks also to Nuria, Rafa and Guillermo, who, to help me in the hard beginnings of any entrepreneurial activity, have opened the doors of their home, let me share with them a bit of their personal lives when I pass through their cities of residence, and give me free accommodation.

Thanks to all!