Since 1992, the Zumtobel Group has commissioned renowned designers from the fields of architecture, graphic design or art to give artistic expression to their perception of light. Snøhetta and Founding Partner, Kjetil Thorsen, designed this 2013/14 Zumtobel Group annual report, Living the Nordic Light, focusing on irrevocable and inherent relationships of light and darkness, lived time and individual perceptions of these relationships. By interviewing four people over 100 years old who have lived their entire lives above the Arctic Circle, Snøhetta explores the effect of living in, and in the absence of, Nordic Light.

Living the Nordic Light
- a tribute to the 100 year olds of the North

By interviewing four people over 100 years old who have lived their entire lives above the Arctic Circle, Snøhetta explores the effect of living in, and in the absence of, Nordic Light. 

Since 1992, the Zumtobel Group has commissioned renowned designers from the fields of architecture, graphic design or art to give artistic expression to their perception of light. We designed this annual report, Living the Nordic Light, focusing on irrevocable and inherent relationships of light and darkness, lived time and individual perceptions of these relationships.

People born in the beginning of the last century are the last living generation to have experienced changes that have had a tremendous physical impact on humanity in the western world. They witnessed two world wars, worldwide changes in transportation, power supply transitions, revolutions, industrialisation and the overwhelming introduction of the digital era. With Living the Nordic Light, Snøhetta aimed to capture individual experiences related to the indisputable presence of light, shade, and darkness, before and after the introduction of electricity.

“Since our client, Zumtobel, is one of the world’s leading experts on lighting – and given our firm’s geographic origins – it seemed natural to look north in designing the annual report,” says founding partner Kjetil Trædal Thorsen.

Over time, could the dark winters and bright summers influence the residents’ conscious or unconscious behaviour? Are there demonstrable effects on their psyches or actions? Do people take any particular measures to deal with the light conditions? Do they behave differently or have different abilities compared with southerners? In order to answer these questions, our designers decided to find four centenarians who had lived their entire lives above the Arctic Circle (66° 33′ 44″ N). We headed north along with authors Åsne Seierstad and Po Tidholm and London-based photographer Sølve Sundsbø. To secure the scientific perspective, they also asked three scientists to contribute their own insightful essays on how light and its absence affect humans.

Helny Zingmark. Born 28. Juli 1913. Lima, Sweeden.

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