Artek at W. Atelier Singapore — art and technology, a new unity.
Art & Technology since 1935.
Founded in Helsinki in 1935 by Alvar and Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl, Artek set out to sell furniture and to promote a modern culture of living. Ninety years on, its collection still stands for clarity, functionality and poetic simplicity: Stool 60 and Armchair 41 Paimio in bent Finnish birch, the Golden Bell lights, Ilmari Tapiovaara's Domus Chair, and contemporary pieces by the Bouroullecs, Konstantin Grcic and TAF Studio — made in Finland, and presented in Singapore by W. Atelier.
Finland
· Since 1935 ·
Four idealists and a birch tree.
Artek was founded in Helsinki in 1935 by four young idealists — Alvar and Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl — with a goal they wrote into a manifesto: to sell furniture and to promote a modern culture of living through exhibitions and other educational means. The name fused "art" and "technology", the two spheres that Walter Gropius and the modernists had set out to unite. Behind it lay a decade of experiment. In the late 1920s Alvar Aalto had worked with the furniture maker Otto Korhonen on bending solid birch, and the result — the L-leg, an L-shaped leg of solid bent wood — became the basis of more than fifty products, starting with Stool 60 in 1933. Pressed plywood and laminated birch followed, and with them Armchair 41 for the Paimio Sanatorium, the Tea Trolley and the Golden Bell light.
From its first store on Fabianinkatu, opened in 1936, Artek brought international modernism to Finland and carried Aalto's Nordic version of it out into the world; Galerie Artek, under Gullichsen, showed Picasso, Léger, Calder and Miró beside the furniture. Aino Aalto served as the company's first Design Director and, from 1941, its Managing Director. Later came the Finnish masters — Ilmari Tapiovaara's Domus Chair of 1946, Yrjö Kukkapuro's Karuselli — and, in this century, Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Konstantin Grcic, TAF Studio and Hella Jongerius, with collaborations from Marimekko to Heath Ceramics. Ninety years after its founding, Artek still makes the Aalto collection in Finland, backs Stool 60 with a lifetime warranty, gives old pieces new life through Artek 2nd Cycle, and has bought Finnish forest to protect the birch it depends on. As Artek's Singapore partner, W. Atelier presents the collection at our Henderson Road showroom.
Four pillars of Artek.
The L-Leg & Finnish Birch
Solid birch, bent into an L and screwed straight to the seat — Aalto's 1930s innovation is still the structural idea behind the collection. Native birch, a material that gains character and patina with age.
Standards & Systems
Aalto designed in standardised components that combine and coordinate: table sizes and heights are flexible, surfaces and colours can be customised even for small projects, and pieces flat-pack for economical, ecological transport.
Made to Last Generations
Stool 60's proven lifetime is at least 50 years, and it carries a lifetime warranty. Artek publishes Environmental Product Declarations, runs the 2nd Cycle programme for vintage pieces and now protects its own Finnish forest.
Presented by W. Atelier
As Artek's Singapore partner, W. Atelier guides selection, finish and configuration with architects, designers and homeowners, and manages delivery and after-sales care from start to finish.
Finnish masters and the designers who followed.
The Artek collection is designed by Finnish masters and leading international designers — from the Aaltos' founding vision to the studios developing new work at the intersection of design, architecture and art today.
Alvar Aalto
Stool 60, Armchair 41 Paimio, Armchair 400 Tank, Tea Trolley 901, Golden Bell, Aalto Tables
Aino Aalto
Side Table 606, Riihitie plant pots, the Zebra textile; Artek's first Design Director
Ilmari Tapiovaara
Domus Chair (1946), Lukki, Trienna, Mademoiselle, Aslak, Kiki Collection
Yrjö Kukkapuro
Karuselli Lounge Chair and Ottoman (1964)
Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec
Kaari Collection (2015), Rope Chair (2020), Tupla Wall Hook
Konstantin Grcic
Rival Chair (2014)
TAF Studio
Atelier Chair (2018) and Atelier Bar Stool (2021)
Hella Jongerius
Tea Trolley 901 dark colour edition, from the Artek archives
Three ways to live with Artek.
Aalto's birch, Aalto's light, and the designers who came after.
The Aalto Collection
The furniture that took Nordic modernism to the world. Stool 60, in continuous production since 1933, is the L-leg at its most elemental — three legs and a seat, stackable and flat-packed. Armchair 41, designed in 1932 for the Paimio Sanatorium, suspends a pressed-plywood seat from a birch lamella frame at just four points so that it floats and flexes; Armchair 400 Tank gives the same cantilever a generous upholstered body. Tea Trolley 901 rolls two lamella loops on twin wheels. Around them, the Aalto Chairs, Tables and Benches share one system of standardised parts, so a whole interior can be composed in birch.
Explore the Aalto Collection →
Aalto Lighting
Light as Aalto drew it — soft, indirect, and shaped by hand-spun metal. The Golden Bell of 1937, first made for the Savoy Restaurant in Helsinki, hangs as a pendant and swivels as a wall light, its perforated rim casting a halo and cutting glare. The Hand Grenade, the Angel Wing floor light with its brass and leather details, and the ringed Beehive pendants complete a family designed alongside Aalto's buildings, in brass, chrome, black and white, for reading corners, dining tables and entrance halls.
Explore Lighting →
Finnish Masters & Contemporary
The collection Artek kept building. Ilmari Tapiovaara's Domus Chair has found its way from Finnish dormitories to dining rooms around the world since 1946; his Kiki series and Yrjö Kukkapuro's Karuselli followed. In this century the Bouroullec brothers gave Artek the Kaari tables and shelves and the Rope Chair, Konstantin Grcic the Rival work chair, TAF Studio the Atelier Chair, while Marimekko brought printmaking to wood bending and Heath Ceramics its tiles to Aalto's tables.
Explore Masters & Contemporary →Artek at W. Atelier
Sit on ninety years.
Artek is something you understand by sitting down — the give of a Paimio seat suspended at four points, the reassuring weight of Stool 60, the warm halo of a Golden Bell. Visit our Henderson Road showroom, compare the birch finishes, lacquers and upholsteries in daylight, and let our team help you configure tables, seating and lighting for your home or project.
- Main Showroom
- 201 Henderson Road, #01-01 and #03-01,
Singapore 159545 - Operating Hours
- Mon – Sat, 1030 to 1900
Closed on Sunday & Public Holiday - Contact
- Tel: +65 6270 8828 | Fax: +65 6270 9929
Authorised Artek Partner
W. Atelier is Artek's authorised partner in Singapore. Every piece is an authentic Artek product — the Aalto collection made in Finland — never a copy.
Selection & Delivery
Configuration of sizes, finishes and upholstery with your architect or designer, delivery and assembly — managed end to end by W. Atelier's own team across Singapore.
Built for Generations
Artek furniture is designed to be used and loved for generations — Stool 60 carries a lifetime warranty. Our after-sales team supports care, re-webbing, parts and service for the lifetime of every piece we deliver.
