Graceland – study spaces in the corridor on floor 5
In the 20th century, architect Ivar Tengbom designed both the Stockholm School of Economics and Högalid Church on Södermalm. These buildings now come together in Mats Theselius’ special edition of the chair Grace: Handelshögskolan—informally known as the “Handelshögstolen”—which has been placed in the corridor on the fifth floor of the SSE main building as study seating.
The chairs reinterpret the architecture of the School’s main building, designed by Ivar Tengbom in 1925. Both the building and the chairs draw inspiration from the style known as Swedish Grace.
The chairs, Grace by Mats Theselius, were produced by Källemo. The copper used on the backrests was repurposed from the renovation of the roof of Högalid Church on Södermalm, another building designed by Tengbom between 1916 and 1923. During the renovation, 15 tons of copper sheeting were replaced, some of which were used in the production of the chairs.
The buttons in the backrests reference the ceiling pattern of the SSE book tower. The nubuck leather matches the color of the façade at Sveavägen 65, while the chair legs draw inspiration from the School’s large oak entrance doors. Each chair includes a numbered plaque on the back.
The 18 chairs were donated to SSE students to create additional study spaces. Each pair of chairs has an individual donor. Between each pair is a small table and lamp donated by Beijerstiftelsen, owner of Svenskt Tenn, a company founded during the Swedish Grace period of the 1920s.
Take a seat in the Handelshögstolen.
The chairs were donated by Sebastian Alexandersson, Lars Bane, Carl-Johan Bonnier, Oscar Gyllenhammar, Carl Hirsch, Per Josefsson, Laurent Leksell, Owe Storåkers, Alex Storåkers, and P.O. Söderberg.
All photographs by Mikael Olsson.