When Björn Björnsson top Scandinavian interior designer visited the Casa de Campo resort in August to teach at the Altos de Chavón School of Art and Design, his creativity, flare and style caused quiet a stir. Here Carmen Lorente, Director of Special Programs at the School shares with us an insight into this great designer, his experience in Altos de Chavón… and reveals his plans to come back and revolutionize Caribbean chic!
Björn Björnsson: Client satisfaction is his design philosophy by Carmen Lorente
As one of Scandinavia’s most renowned and successful designers, Björn Björnsson has dedicated more than 25 years to the art of creating elegant and luxurious interiors for high end residential clients and large scale commercial projects in the hospitality design industry.
When you consider that he became an interior designer by chance when he entered the wrong aptitude testing room for college entry, it is clear that destiny had marked a road of creative success for him. Talented he is, but more importantly he credits determination, discipline and perseverance as the qualities that have enabled him to grow and expand his business into a successful design studio.
He has created interiors across a wide geographical area; from New York where his offices are located to other cities in the United States, Europe and the Caribbean.
Björn’s foremost goal, the moment he takes on a project, “is working closely with my clients to create a space they will fall in love with. There is no satisfaction greater than creating client satisfaction.” And this falls true whether he’s designing a residence, a guest hotel suite or even the interior of a private aircraft.
Björn Björnsson in Altos de Chavón
His latest venture brought him to the Dominican Republic where he taught a one-week intensive course to eager design students and young graduates of architecture programs at The Altos de Chavon School of Design, an art and design school affiliated to Parsons The New School for Design in New York City. The Altos de Chavon School of Art and Design which is located in the lush tropical village of Altos de Chavón, situated on a plateau with a view of the Caribbean Sea and the winding Chavón River below, is within the five star world-class Casa de Campo resort. Recognized as one of the top art and design schools in the Caribbean and Latin America, the school develops short intensive programs for young and established professionals during the summer months.
His experience in Casa de Campo and Altos de Chavón was such a positive one, that Björn plans to return to the country more frequently. Now, lured by the possibility of establishing a design footprint characteristic of his excellent design aesthetic, maybe we can expect a new look to emerge… “scandinavian tropics”, perhaps?
Design by Björn Björnsson
Article by Carmen Lorente
As Director of Special Programs, Carmen Lorente coordinates courses, lectures, and special events relating to art and design for The Altos de Chavon Cultural Center Foundation. She divides her time between her residence in Florida and work in New York and the Dominican Republic. She is proud mother to Nicole, wife of Radhames and companion to Max, a Papillon and Olivia a Jack Russell terrier.
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