From the Hygge Comes the Hoogle
Inspired by the Danish idea of Hygge - a sense of warmth, comfort, and togetherness - we began to think more carefully about how spaces feel, not just how they are built.​
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From that, we developed our own approach, which we call the hoogle.
The hoogle is not a style, it is the sense that a space is at ease - settled, coherent, with a calm energy.
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Modern tools give us incredible speed and precision, and we rely on that where it matters - structure, alignment, and durability. But we don't use that precision to force a kind of perfection that does not exist in nature.
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Instead we use it to create spaces that allow for natural variation. In nature nothing is perfectly uniform, yet everything feels right. When the larger relationships - layout, proportion, and flow - are correct, the smaller details don't need to be forced.
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In this way we focus on the golden ratio and leave the 16th, 32nd and even 64th of an inch to themselves.
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Over time, we've developed a variety of techniques to bring out the materials' true hygge.
​ Edges are softened. Surfaces are worked and eased back. Finishes are built up and reduced again, so the result feels handled rather than freshly manufactured. These steps take time, but they allow a space to feel more at ease from the start.
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At the same time, we don't chase a kind of surface perfection that only exists briefly. Small marks and variations are part of how a space becomes lived in. Rather than trying to eliminate them, we build in a way that can absorb them - so the work ages well over the life of the structure.
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The goal is not perfection, but coherence.
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Like a beautiful old tree, branches laid out to capture maximal light, taking into account all the surrounding trees, leaves or needles growing where they may.
