Kaj Franck Design Prize 2022: Kari Virtanen
Cabinetmaker Kari Virtanen has been selected as the recipient of the Kaj Franck Design Prize 2022, granted by Design Forum Finland. The Kaj Franck Design Prize is one of the most significant design prizes in Finland, and it has been granted since 1992.
Cabinetmaker Kari Virtanen founded his own one-man workshop Nikari as early as 1967. Along the years, the company evolved into a design furniture brand. Since the beginning, the emphasis of Virtanen and Nikari’s work has been in combining traditional carpentry and design. The prize jury wanted to highlight Virtanen’s long-term work and values, on which he has based his career. Virtanen and Nikari have produced classic Finnish design that uses wood and is based on tradition while still reinterpreting it. Under the last decade, the company has started operating internationally, building networks and having foreign designers to enrich own collections. Kari Virtanen’s work as a mentor of new designer and cabinetmaker generations is also important.
According to the prize jury, Kari Virtanen and Nikari have been ahead of their time in sustainable design and business. Nikari has managed to maintain its originality and core values, and its object world is as topical today as before.
The Kaj Franck Design Prize brings forth the central spirit and principles of designer Kaj Franck’s (1911–1989) oeuvre: high-quality, democratic and functional design that solves practical challenges and opens up new opportunities for companies excelling in design. A particular merit is if the rewarded designer brings beauty and joy to everyday life and enhances the quality of life. The prize sum is €10,000. The Kaj Franck Design Prize was established in 1992 by Design Forum Finland and it is funded by the Finnish Fair Foundation.
The members of the Kaj Franck Design Prize jury of 2022 were Design Forum Finland's board member Annika Jyllilä Vertigans / Vieser Oy (Chairperson of the Jury), Project Director Kaarina Gould / ADmuseo, Head of Brands and Spaces Aleksi Kuokka / Aivan, Professor Yrjö Sotamaa, and interior architect Vertti Kivi / dSign Vertti Kivi.
The Kaj Franck Design Prize exhibition is a part of Design Forum Finland Awards exhibition at Glasshouse Helsinki, 5–28 May 2022.
More information: Design Forum Finland, Communications Specialist Anne Veinola, anne.veinola@designforum.fi, +358 (0)40 548 6407
#kajfranckdesignprize, #dffawards22 | www.designforum.fi | www.nikari.fi
Press images can be downloaded at www.designforum.fi/en/media/
Kaj Franck Design Prize 2022: Kari Virtanen
DFF Awards exhibition
5–28 May 2022
Glasshouse Helsinki, Aleksanterinkatu 13, Helsinki
DESIGN FORUM FINLAND
Design Forum Finland's mission is to help Finnish companies to grow and succeed by using design as a competitive as set. We provide ways, insight and contacts for extensive use of design from brand to product and service offering and
customer experience.
FINNISH FAIR FOUNDATION
The Finnish Fair Foundation promotes Finnish business life, different industries and expertise by granting scholarships
and prizes each year. The most well-known prizes are the Kaj Franck Design Prize, the Habitare Design Competition
Award, the Out of Love for Books Award, and The Finnish Excellence Award
