Industry Textile design Headquarters Ebeltoft | Key people Anders Byriel, CEO Founded 1968 | |
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Profiles | ||
Kvadrat is a textile company established in Denmark in 1968 with deep roots in Scandinavia’s design tradition. Kvadrat holds the leading position in Europe’s high-quality textile market and supplies architects, designers and private consumers across the world. Their textiles and textile-related products have been used in some of the world’s most important architectural landmarks.
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History
The company was founded by Poul Byriel and Erling Rasmussen in 1968 in Ebeltoft, Denmark. They worked closely with designers such as Nanna Ditzel, Finn Juhl, Nina Koppel and Gunnar Aagaard Andersen and created a portfolio of furniture textiles.
Kvadrat's close collaboration with designers resulted in the creation of classic textiles such as Nanna Ditzel's Hallingdal that has kept a strong presence in private homes, hospitals, airports and trains; most prominently on DSB (Danish National Railways). National critical recognition of Kvadrat's contribution to design came in 1986 when Danish Museum of Art and Design staged the exhibition Kvadrat Textiles through 20 Years.
In the early 1980s Kvadrat joined the international design scene when they started to work with Italian-based American designer Ross Littell, however, the company resisted international trends and kept its distinctive Scandinavian style. Kvadrat textiles were used as the bearer of national political symbolism when British architects Foster & Partners were commissioned to design the interior of the Debating Chamber of the Bundestag in the Reichstag. Senior partner and head of design explained that 'the fabric needed to represent a strong image of Parliament', therefore Finn Skødt's cobalt blue Topas textile was used.
The direction of Kvadrat passed to the next generation in the 1990s, Poul Byriel's son Anders Byriel took over as the CEO along with Erling Rasmussen's daughter Mette Bendix as the product director.
Collaborations
Kvadrat strives to continuously push innovation and creativity through a long series of collaborations with external designers and artists. Throughout the years Kvadrat has worked with some of the world’s best designers, architects and artists including Raf Simons, Alfredo Häberli, Peter Saville, Olafur Eliasson, Akira Minagawa, Hella Jongerius, Tord Boontje, Miriam Bäckström and Werner Aisslinger. Kvadrat's creative partners come from very different design backgrounds and often specialize in fields other than textiles such as furniture, jewellery, porcelain, graphic design and architecture.
Kvadrat's design collaborations have resulted in a wide range of products and projects such as B&O PLAY speakers and Vifa loudspeakers.
Architecture
Kvadrat textiles have been used in architectural developments such as The Gherkin in London, Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, The Reichstag Berlin, Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain, the Copenhagen Opera House in Denmark, Foster & Partners studio in London, Yves St. Laurent in Paris and the Oslo Opera House in Norway.
Art projects
Kvadrat has actively engaged in projects with artists, museums, galleries and designers. Such projects include:
Showrooms
Kvadrat's major international showrooms are located in