Pentagon Design

Arni Aromaa and Sauli Suomela established their agency, Pentagon Design, in 1996 – even though they were still studying for their MA in Industrial Design at Helsinki’s University of Art and Design at the time. Now they run a studio of 15, including industrial, graphic and interior designers, engineers, and economists. Their projects range from packaging for a Finnish confectionery company to the interior of a new library. Their design education, which followed the Bauhaus ideology, has left them with a preference for restraint and rigour, while coming from Finland means they have always thought of glass as a primary material. “The Finnish glass heritage is so strong,” they say. “In the same way that every interior architect has to design at least one chair in their lifetime, every Finnish designer has to work with glass.”