Yrjö Kukkapuro RDI (6 April 1933 – 8 February 2025) was a Finnish

interior architect Interior architecture is the design of a building or shelter from inside out, or the design of a new interior for a type of home that can be fixed. It can refer to the initial design and plan used for a building's interior, to that interi ...

and

furniture designer This is a list of notable people whose primary occupation is furniture design. A * Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) * Eero Aarnio (born 1932) * Robert Adam (1728–1792) * Thomas Affleck (1745–1795) * Franco Albini (1905–1977) * Davis Allen ( ...

Education and academic career

Kukkapuro studied design at the Institute of Industrial Arts in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

in the late 1950s, qualifying as an interior architect in 1958. In the 1970s he returned to the Institute, to work as a Professor and, for two years, as the Rector. He held

Honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

Professorships at universities including Jiangnan (Wuxi) and

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

, as well as an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Art and Design Helsinki (now part of the

Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture; ; ), was formed of two separate schools: the faculty of architecture (previously part of the Helsinki University of Technology) and the University of Art and Design Helsinki (UIAH, known in ...

Design work

Kukkapuro's design philosophy centred around ergonomics. He was best known for his chairs, of which perhaps the most famous is an easy chair called ''Karuselli'' ('Carousel') from 1964, which is included in the permanent collection of major museums including the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

in New York and the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

in London. It was nominated as the most comfortable chair in the world by ''The New York Times'' in 1974, and fellow designer Sir

Terence Conran Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was a British designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. He founded the Design Museum in Shad Thames, London in 1989. The British designer Thomas Heatherwick said that Conran "m ...

has called it his "favourite place to sit because it is so comfortable". Kukkapuro exhibited in dozens of solo and group exhibitions around the world.

Personal life and death

Yrjö Kukkapuro was married to graphic artist Irmeli Kukkapuro ( Salminen) since 1954. The couple built a home studio in

Kauniainen Kauniainen (; ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Kauniainen is situated in the southern part of the Uusimaa region, and it is Enclave and exclave, enclaved by the City of Espoo. The population of Kauniainen ...

, designed by Yrjö Kukkapuro and his long-time collaborator, engineer Eero Paloheimo. Irmeli died in 2022. Kukkapuro died after a long illness at his residence outside

, on 8 February 2025, at the age of 91. According to his daughter, he kept working until the end, asking only a week before his death for his assistant to visit, because he had a nearly-finished chair design he wanted to discuss.

Awards and recognition

In 1983, Kukkapuro was awarded the ' medal of the

Order of the Lion of Finland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

. In 2002, he was appointed Honorary

Royal Designer for Industry Royal Designer for Industry is a distinction established by the British Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in 1936, to encourage a high standard of industrial design and enhance the status of designers. It is awarded to people who have achieved "sustained ...

of the UK's

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

References

External links

Personal website.

Arjen designia -juttukeikalla Yrjö Kukkapuro.
Yleisradio. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kukkapuro, Yrjo 1933 births 2025 deaths Finnish designers Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture alumni Academic staff of the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture Pro Finlandia Medals of the Order of the Lion of Finland Royal Designers for Industry