LINDA KORNDAL
Born in Denmark in 1982, architect Linda Korndal founded her architecture and design studio, Toko Among Friends, in 2020. The Copenhagen-based practice specializes in the shaping of space, working at all scales, whether through architecture, interiors, or furniture design - to sculpt evocative atmospheres full of wonder and soul.
Keen Shelving System
Keen Shelving System
Keen Shelving System
TWO DECADES OF CRAFTING SPACE
A graduate of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, Korndal has spent two decades at the forefront of international architecture and design. She spent six years as head architect of the renowned multidisciplinary studio Norm Architects, where she honed her philosophy of architecture centered in the intersection of space and the life that unfolds within it.
Combining an architect’s analytical approach with a designer’s appreciation of the beauty that lies in the smallest details, Korndal is driven by a curiosity about the relationship between spaces and human emotions and behaviors, the dialogue that occurs between object and observer. In this sense, every design is a character in a narrative, with a personality and vitality all its own.
DESIGNS AS DIALOGUE
Dedicated to exploring and enhancing the ways in which our surroundings shape the actions and rituals that define our everyday lives, Toko Among Friends is rooted in the same sense of wonder. The studio’s name is derived from toko na mo, the term for a small recess or niche that often features in Japanese homes, providing a space to store or display treasured objects.
This concept also inspires the studio’s approach, which centers on celebrating what truly matters and creating a platform for the appreciation of beauty and meaning. Toko Among Friends’ designs are all about honoring the extraordinary in the everyday, the moods and moments that give life its richness and texture, what Korndal calls ‘the subtle choreography of life itself’.
‘Keen pushes physical boundaries. We were dreaming of a super-light structure, elevated from the ground, a stable, sturdy shelf that feels as though it might float. The legs - oh, the legs. They don’t just appear to defy the laws of physics. They are just at the tipping point. We’ve literally been narrowing in on the unbearable lightness of being.’
- Linda Korndal, architect and founder, Toko Among Friends
PRECISION AND PLAYFULNESS
For Toko Among Friends, empathy is key. Whether Korndal and her team are creating a building, a room, or a furniture collection, the starting point is always the people that will use it, the story it will tell them, and how it will influence the way they live, work, think, and feel. Danish in origin but international in outlook, Toko Among Friends’ aesthetic is derived from the elegant simplicity inherent in Scandinavian design - crisp, clean lines and clear, intentional forms, refracted through the lenses of playfulness and poetry.
In the hands of Toko Among Friends, design has the power not only to solve practical problems but also to enhance lives and lift hearts. This is exemplified in the studio’s first design for GUBI, the Keen modular shelving system, which elegantly encapsulates the pragmatism, empathy, and personality that Toko Among Friends pours into everything they create.