Type osakeyhtiö Revenue 1,534,000 (2014) Headquarters Littoinen, Kaarina | Industry furniture Operating income | |
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Formerly called O.Y. Huonekalu- ja Rakennustyötehdas A.B. Founded 15 February 1912; 105 years ago (1912-02-15) in Turku, Grand Duchy of Finland | ||
Huonekalutehdas Korhonen Oy, formerly called O.Y. Huonekalu- ja Rakennustyötehdas A.B is a former furniture producer located in Littoinen, Kaarina, Finland. The company is known particularly as producer of Alvar Aalto designed furniture.
The company was started in 1910 when Otto Korhonen and three other carpenters bought Puuseppien Osuuskunta ("Carpenters' Co-operative") based in Turku, then Grand Duchy of Finland. The versatile portfolio comprised doors, windows and furniture which were produced in facilities located in Uudenmaankatu 7. The company was registered as Huonekalu- ja Rakennustyötehdas in 1912.
At the end of the 1920s Otto Korhonen started co-operation with architect Alvar Aalto. Aalto had recently got two large projects: Southwestern Agricultural Cooperative Building in Turku and Paimio Sanatorium in Paimio. The sanatorium was the most significant collaborative project between Korhonen and Aalto; Huonekalu- ja Rakennustyötehdas produced its interior and furniture. Aalto and Korhonen planned together a number of armchairs and various tables for the personnel and patients. The Paimio Sanatorium was the inspiration for many of the Aalto's stackable designs, and this in turn influenced the American designers Charles and Ray Eames.
In the 1930s the company developed a wood bending method, which was largely applied on Aalto's furniture. Aalto's "Y-leg" introduced in 1947 and "X-leg" that followed in 1954 were based on method developed by Huonekalu- ja Rakennustyötehdas. The bent wooden parts became characteristic features in many Aalto's furniture models, such as "stacking chair" and "flexible wooden chair".
The company is most notable for manufacturing the "stacking chair" designs of Alvar and Aino Aalto.
In 1966 the company was renamed Huonekalutehdas Korhonen Oy. During the subsequent decades, the company's portfolio was largely based on Aalto's design classics.
Korhonen's furniture production was sold to Artek, a subsidiary of Vitra, in 2014. The production continues in Littoinen under new name.