Olavi Hänninen

Olavi Hänninen in 1957.

Olavi Tapio Hänninen (14 December 1920, in Lapinlahti – 16 June 1992 in Espoo) was a Finnish designer and interior architect.^[1][2][3]

Olavi Hänninen's design projects ranged from furniture to trams and church silverware, including total interior designs for many public facilities.^[4] His modernist designs also included tables and chairs, and he was well recognized for his work on the Palace Hotel interiors together with Antti Nurmesniemi and Olli Borg.^[5] Hänninen designed a renowned plastic chair with metal structure for the hotel's café.^[6] In the 1970s, his designs included the new Valmet Nr I trams for Helsinki City Transport.^[3]

Before starting his own design office in 1961, Hänninen worked at architect Viljo Revell's offices in the early 1950s, where one of his tasks was to design selected interiors for the Palace Hotel building completed in 1952.^[7][8]

In 1957, Hänninen received a gold medal at the 11th Milan Triennale for his design of a dwelling exhibition in the Finnish Pavilion.^[4][7] In 1977, he received the State of Finland Award for Industrial Design.^[7] He was also an honorary member of the Finnish Association of Interior Architects.^[9] A book on Hänninen's life work, Muovituolista raitiovaunuun, consisting of articles written by six Finnish experts on arts and design, was published in 2006.^[10] Olavi Hänninen was married to textile artist Airi Snellman (1930-2022).^[11]

References

1. Olavi Hänninen at the Finnish National Filmography
2. Muovituolista raitiovaunuun: Olavi Hänninen sisustusarkkitehti SIO 1920–1992. ORNAMO tiedote 5/2006, p. 27 (in Finnish)
3. Sisustusarkkitehti Olavi Hänninen: Vaatimattoman kauneuden linjan edustaja. (Obituary.) Helsingin Sanomat, June 30, 1992, p. A 4. (in Finnish)
4. Olavi Hänninen – Interior Architect: From plastic chairs to trams. Design Museum, 18 August – 17 September 2006 (finnguide.fi)
5. Kent, Neil (2004): Helsinki: A Cultural and Literary History. Signal Books. P. 187. ISBN 1-90266974-6
6. "Design of the Century". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
7. Arkiympäristön muotoilija. Helsingin Sanomat, Kulttuuri, August 18, 2006 (in Finnish)
8. Pöppönen, Hannu: Muotoilua menestyksen varjosta: Esimerkiksi raitiovaunu on osin Olavi Hännisen käsialaa. Helsingin Sanomat, Kulttuuri, August 18, 2006 (in Finnish)
9. Aaltonen, Susanna: SIOn lyhyt historia – Sisustusarkkitehdin ammattikuvan rakentuminen. Speech at the seminar SIO 60 Years, 9.6.2009. Finnish Designers. (in Finnish)
10. Turkka, Marja (ed.) 2006. Muovituolista raitiovaunuun: Olavi Hänninen – sisustusarkkitehti 1920–1992. ISBN 952-468-119-6 (in Finnish)
11. Leppäharju, Marja ym. (3 April 2022). "Valon ja varjon tulkki". Helsingin Sanomat. Muistokirjoitus.: B 29.