On March 13, one of the leading design offices in Latvia, H2E, celebrated its 18th anniversary. The interdisciplinary design team has implemented graphic, interior, exhibition, navigation design and other works, gaining international recognition.To achieve excellent quality, functionality, and clarity in their projects, H2E uses carefully considered working and design methods. In the Nice Touch section, co-founder and lead designer of H2E, Holgers Elers, recommends a machine that lets you both clear your mind and think.
«The lawnmower is very helpful in the thinking process. You could say it is a multifunctional tool for meditation, stimulating creativity, and opening the stream of consciousness. Sometimes I spend a full working day, eight hours, on this device. During this time, nobody disturbs me — everybody at home knows that I am working. The only exception are the moles, who build their pyramids of earth. Then I have to get off the device and think about the moles.
The lawnmower shakes off all the bad thoughts that have accumulated during the week, and there’s time to think about the things that you simply don’t have time for in your day-to-day. Since I can’t completely disconnect from work, sometimes ideas and solutions come to mind, interspersed with a to-do list for the countryside property. This switchover is healthy because it prevents getting stuck on one thing. It’s like I have two lives — I’m a completely different person in the countryside than I am in Riga. In the countryside there are certain things that are «most important», in the city — there are others. It’s nice to be able to find a balance between them, even if it’s thanks to a machine like a lawnmower.»
Holgers Elers is a designer and professor at the Design Department of the Art Academy of Latvia who, in 2007, together with Ingūna Elere and Dagnija Andersone, founded the design studio H2E. The team carries out graphic, object, and spatial design projects of various scales, from in-depth research to implementation. Recent projects include several buildings at the Children’s Clinical University Hospital in Riga (read about the design of the Children’s and Youth Mental Health Centre here), the continuation of the long-standing collaboration with the Liepaja Municipality, the exhibition The Great Void. The Holocaust in Liepāja, as well as the interior design of the company Lightguide, which won the Red Dot award last year.
Holger Elers’ works include several notable environmental objects, such as the iconic Riga 800 and the series Philosophy in the City, which was launched at the end of last year. At the Art Academy of Latvia, Holger teaches creative and critical thinking. In January, a new exhibition was opened at the Janis Rozentāls and Rūdolfs Blaumanis Museum, which was implemented under Holgers’ supervision by his students. The exhibition «What does an interior designer do?» will be on show at the Pilot art space from March 29 to April 17.
Viedokļi