1960s Brutalist wooden 3 drawer commode - Olavi Hänninen (1920 - 1992)

This superb three-drawer commode was designed by Olavi Hänninen (1920-1992) dates from the 1960s and is made from smoothed solid pieces of elmwood with almond-shaped iron drawer pulls.

Olavi Tapio Hänninen (1920 - 1992) was a Finnish designer and interior architect known for his diverse projects, from furniture and trams to church silverware and public space interiors. His modernist and Brutalist styles are evident in his furniture and the interiors of the Palace Hotel, designed with Antti Nurmesniemi and Olli Borg. He notably created a plastic chair with a metal frame for the hotel's café and designed the Valmet Nr I trams for Helsinki in the 1970s. Before starting his own office in 1961, Hänninen worked with architect Viljo Revell, contributing to the Palace Hotel's interiors. He received a gold medal at the 11th Milan Triennale in 1957 and the State of Finland Award for Industrial Design in 1977. An honorary member of the Finnish Association of Interior Architects, Hänninen's work was celebrated in the 2006 book "Muovituolista raitiovaunuun." He was married to textile artist Airi Snellman (1930-2022).