An Unconventional Path Shaped by Pop Culture
Earning a higher education degree was unusual in Ekstrøm’s family. Before entering the National College of Art and Design in Oslo (SHKS), he trained first as a carpenter and cabinetmaker, then as an upholsterer. This dual background allowed him to move comfortably between traditional craftsmanship and concepts related to industrial development.
Ekstrøm was a highly dedicated student, although he showed little interest in theory. Two elements appear to have had a particular influence on his work: the teaching of value analysis and a lecture given by designer and activist Victor Papanek in 1968, during the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the School of Design (SHKS).
Value analysis is a method aimed at eliminating unnecessary components from a production process and focusing attention on function. It was introduced into design education in the late 1960s. Papanek’s message called on designers to stop merely creating industrial products and instead devote their creativity to solving problems that today would be described as issues of sustainability.
As was the case for many young designers, student projects that year were strongly influenced by this vision.
1964–1968: A Turning Point
The period from 1964 to 1968, when Ekstrøm was studying in Oslo, reflected a broader transformation in the history of Norwegian design. Between 1960 and 1970, the profession of designer itself began to gain greater recognition.
It was also a time when industrial products were increasingly celebrated through awards, competitions and annual distinctions. Exports of manufactured goods were growing and industry was thriving. Manufacturers placed greater emphasis on research and development, while techniques for working with laminated materials continued to improve.
Ingmar Relling developed the celebrated “Siesta” chair, launched in 1965, followed a year later by Elsa and Nordahl Solheim’s “Kengu” chair.
Alternative Culture Was Omnipresent in His Student Projects
The “Hexagonal House”, a student project created for the school’s 150th anniversary, reveals a strong interest in alternative ideas and pop culture.
Ekstrøm developed the concept of a house capable of adapting over time and evolving according to changing needs. It began with a simple 15 m² hexagonal module, to which further modules could be added as required. The Hexagonal House was intended to be easy to assemble, inexpensive, flexible and readily movable.
Industrial Designer
After graduating in 1968, he began working as an industrial designer for Tandberg Radiofabrikk, where he designed a wide range of audio systems until 1977.
Tandberg Radiofabrikk already employed Peter Opsvik and Inger Johanne Fosheim, two other important figures in Norwegian design. Together, they helped transform the company into a modern and highly regarded manufacturer, known for its technical quality, contemporary image and reasonable prices.
Tandberg tape recorders dominated the Norwegian market. During this period, the company’s workforce grew from around 1,000 to 3,500 employees. It is said that President John F. Kennedy used Tandberg reel-to-reel tape recorders to record numerous meetings in the White House Cabinet Room, including discussions relating to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
1972: The “Ekstrem” Chair
In 1969, the Norwegian Institute of Technology established a scholarship programme to support research and innovation in design. Ekstrøm received this support in 1972–73. One of his most celebrated experiments emerged from this opportunity: the “Ekstrem” chair.
A chair that forces the individual to reconsider the very act and function of “sitting”.
The Search for Originality and Independence
Throughout the 1970s, Ekstrøm became one of the leading figures of a new generation of designers seeking to challenge the codes and ideals inherited from the golden age of Scandinavian design.
The period was marked by major social and cultural change. A sense of rebellion emerged against the dominance of dark wood and the established language associated with “Scandinavian design”. Terje Ekstrøm’s experiments helped bring a renewed sense of vitality to the Norwegian design scene.
Indeed, since the mid-1960s, many Norwegian designers had looked to Denmark and Sweden for inspiration, while Terje Ekstrøm developed a distinctive language and a sensibility of his own.
In 1980, a group of Norwegian designers symbolically celebrated this change through a staged funeral, drowning a representation of “Scandinavian design” — regarded as an outdated philosophy — in the Oslo Fjord.
The 1980s and the Memphis Group
In the early 1980s, Terje Ekstrøm was invited by the Minister of Culture to appear on the television programme “På plakaten”, alongside Anni-Frid Lyngstad of ABBA and fellow designer Peter Opsvik.
His “Ekstrem” chair became an international success and came to embody a distinctly futuristic vision of modernity.
During the summer of 1984, Gallery F15, near Moss, opened an exhibition devoted to the Memphis Group. The international postmodern movement introduced new ideas about form and function, sparking intense cultural debate and providing a powerful source of inspiration. That same year, manufacturer Hjellegjerde Møbelfabrikk began serial production of the “Ekstrem” chair, originally designed in 1972.
Today, the chair is widely regarded as one of the first major expressions of Norwegian postmodern design.
In any case, its form lends itself to multiple interpretations. More than twenty years after it was designed, the chair was selected to appear in the television series “Star Trek: Voyager” during the 1990s.
Achille