Law firm Dottir is anything but conventional – and it doesn’t try to be. This is evident in its office designed by KOKO3, where a bold interior filled with contemporary art feels more like an art gallery than a traditional law firm.
FROM THE MOMENT you step through the front door, it’s clear that Dottir’s office defies every spatial stereotype associated with the legal profession. The first impression creates an intriguing contrast – have I entered a law firm or a contemporary art gallery? This bold, boundary-pushing attitude has been part of Dottir’s DNA from the very beginning.
Dottir is one of the fastest-growing corporate law firms in Finland in the past decade. Founded in 2016, it is known for advising tech companies and startups while redefining traditional legal practices. In less than ten years, the firm has grown from a small founding team to a powerhouse of over 50 corporate law professionals.
Its newly revamped office on Pohjoisesplanadi in Helsinki, designed in collaboration with the design agency KOKO3, is a striking investment in Dottir’s unique and inspiring company culture and way of working.
Art at the core
At Dottir, art is everywhere. One meeting room is dominated by Finland’s most internationally recognized graffiti artist, EGS, while another is taken over by Riiko Sakkinen’s provocative works. Expanding across walls, windowsills, and side tables, the extensive collection brings together leading names in Finnish contemporary art alongside emerging talents. But here, art is more than mere decoration – it serves as a thought-provoking narrator and, above all, a catalyst for compelling conversations. The works on display belong to the private collection of one of the firm’s founding partners, Jaakko Lindgren.
The redesigned space has evolved through experience: there are no assigned desks, but plenty of diverse work areas to suit different needs. Flexibility was a key principle in the design. Many of the furnishings are on wheels, allowing the space to be effortlessly transformed into an event venue, seminar hall, or even a pre-party spot for Flow Festival.
For a fast-growing company, office space is a recurring topic on the leadership agenda. Over the years, Dottir has refined its understanding of how space can best serve its people and business. The result is a workplace that seamlessly supports the firm’s brand, client work, and, most importantly, its employees.
“With this transformation, everything now feels just right – nothing is excessive,” says Jukka Pello, attorney and founding partner responsible for Dottir’s office development.
Edgy over cozy
The redesign was led by KOKO3. “We received one of the best briefs ever,” says Mari Relander, partner at KOKO3. “To quote Jukka Pello’s clarity: If the choice is between edgy and cozy, Dottir leans toward edgy,” she laughs.
The result is a meticulously curated blend of cool tones, focused lighting, and metallic details, punctuated by a deep red drawn from the building’s historical context. This carefully balanced composition forms the core of Dottir’s renewed aesthetic, allowing both people and art to take center stage.
“I have to admit, even though the final result is stunningly subtle, we didn’t nail it on the first try,” Relander reveals. “It took a couple of rounds to find paint shades that were cold enough. For example, the zinc grey used in the meeting rooms is from A.S. Helsingö’s Milieu color palette.”
When a design operates on such a refined level, every decision matters. The custom-built furniture – including meeting tables, benches, bookshelves, coat racks, and kitchen cabinetry – strikes a precise balance between visual restraint and strength.
The gallery-like atmosphere of the office puts Dottir’s impressive art collection in the spotlight. The responsibility for curating and hanging the pieces was entrusted to professionals. “With a collection of this scale and depth, it was clear that the installation had to be handled by experts – in this case, Veikko Halmetoja and Galerie Forsblom,” Relander explains. “The artworks primarily engage in dialogue with each other, though they also create beautiful pairings with the interior. The final arrangement even surprised us, as the layout evolved once the space was complete. To enhance the experience, we added more focused lighting, provided by Saas Instruments.”
Beyond the expected
The selection of loose furniture follows a harmonious Nordic triad – pieces from Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. Finnish Design Shop’s Contract Sales supplied a significant portion of the office’s seating and furnishings, including pieces from Montana Furniture, HAY, Pedrali, Form & Refine, and Blå Station.
“In every furniture choice, we aimed to avoid the obvious,” says Mari Relander. “The selections even sparked real debate between the Dottir team and KOKO3, which I found incredibly exciting!”
The furnishing concept blends contemporary and slightly older designs in an engaging way. “For example, I first saw Blå Station’s Able chair at the Stockholm Furniture Fair in 2024, and sometimes, you just fall in love instantly. The Able chair combines a relaxed aesthetic with beautiful details, and it’s also 100% recyclable,” says Relander. “HAY’s Rey bar stool, on the other hand, plays intriguingly with two-dimensionality and three-dimensionality. Originally designed by Bruno Rey in the 1970s, the chair has the simplicity of a child’s drawing, completely flat in appearance. And for a wooden chair, its profile is remarkably slim. It has all the makings of a true classic, which is why Rey was the perfect choice.”
However, the KOKO3 team’s favorite is a Finnish design: the Visio chair on wheels, designed by Yrjö Wiherheimo and Simo Heikkilä in 1980. “We even called Vivero [the chair’s manufacturer] to make sure that this, possibly the coolest lounge chair in the universe, would never go out of production,” Relander recalls. “It won’t,” was the response.
The final result of Dottir’s redesigned office is distinctly unique, steering clear of every traditional law firm stereotype. Those, Dottir is happy to leave to others.
See also:
• Finnish Design Shopin projektimyynti >
Edit: Design Stories Images: Riikka Kantinkoski