Swedish Pine Coffee Table by Roland Wilhelmsson, 1970s

Brutalism in its purest form, but not only !

Three large pieces of wood put together by massive dowels, the latter themselves being locked transversely by tabs. If in appearance we are closer to carpentry work than cabinetmaking, ironically the history of this creation unite these two worlds.

Indeed, little information circulates about Roland Wilhelmsson, it is therefore difficult to clearly define the history of his creations, but it is by listening to the story of the first owners of his furniture and through the internet pages in Swedish, that we finally manage to perceive reality after cross-referencing the information collected.

More than just thick sections of pine, this coffee table actually contains the soul of the old Klara district in Stockholm where today only the large St. Clare Church and a handful of other illustrious buildings remain, the rest having been demolished from 1952, in favor of more modern buildings.

If you haven’t made the connection yet, it’s very simple, the table would be made of demolition wood coming directly from this neighborhood, if we believe the former owners. Perhaps a way of paying homage to this place by immortalizing it in its achievements.

Roland Wilhelmsson designed his creations himself in Ågesta in Sweden and signed them by hand. He subsequently worked with the company Karl Andersson & Söner to produce his furniture and distribute it more widely.