You know you’re in Sweden when even the train from the airport is stunningly designed.
Arlanda Express photo
The Arlanda Express connects the Stockholm-Arlanda Airport to the city center of Stockholm in a speedy twenty minutes – running on 100% green electricity from renewable sources such as hydropower, wind power or biofuels.
That’s impressive, but what made an impact on me were the sublime design details.
Stockholm design company, I Design, started with sleek white walls and gray wool upholstered seats, adding cool cast aluminum, and warm wood and leather details, like these stylish coat hooks on the backs of each seat, and the wood-trimmed windows with leather pulls on the shades.
Along one side of the train compartment is an efficient computer docking station, complete with electrical outlets and chic red lamps. The surface is gleaming black laminate, trimmed with red, of course.
The Arlanda Express design won the internationally acclaimed RedDot Design Award, presented annually to design teams that have had an impact on worldwide markets due to their design achievements. Other winners include Apple, BMW, and Bose.
The train into Stockholm is only the beginning of the wonders of Swedish design that I witnessed on a recent trip there.
Stay tuned over the next month for more!
I Design photo
PHOTO CREDIT, FIRST PHOTO: I DESIGN