Designer · Sweden · 1932–2026
Åke Axelsson
Åke Axelsson (1932–2026) – Swedish interior architect and furniture designer, designer of the S-217 chair (1963) for Gärsnäs, Royal Academy member.
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About the designer
- Lifetime
- 1932–2026
- Country
- Sweden
Åke Axelsson was born in 1932 in Urshult. From 1947 to 1951 he studied cabinetmaking in Visby, until 1952 undertook an apprenticeship in Munich, and from 1952 to 1957 studied interior architecture at Konstfack under Carl Axel Acking. He then worked at architectural practices (1957–1961), including Peter Celsing's (1959–1961), and from 1967 ran his own practice.
The S-217 chair from 1963, awarded second prize in a competition devoted to the protection of beech trees, was produced by Gärsnäs; the Century armchair (1993) was also designed for the company, for its centenary. Axelsson designed interiors for the Riksdag (1971, with Peter Celsing), the Stockholm School of Economics and the Den Gyldene Freden restaurant (1989), the Riksdag Library (1997), the Royal Palace in Stockholm (1995–2001) and Rustkammaren (2010–2017).
Collaboration with Gärsnäs spanned at least three decades – from the S-217 chair in 1963 to the Century armchair in 1993. Axelsson received the Prince Eugen Medal and the Bruno Mathsson Award, and was a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts from 1989. He died on 7 May 2026 at the age of 94.
Key designs
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S-217
chair, second prize in competition
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Century
armchair for the company's centenary
