Highlights from Copenhagen’s 3daysofdesign

Framing

Head to Framing, the mega exhibition at Odd Fellow Palace, a 250-year-old mansion in the centre of the Copenhagen, for some of the best design at the festival. Three floors of the rococo building are given over to 46 brands, showcasing both Scandinavian and international talent. Standouts include Zanat’s hand-carved furniture: its contemporary forms are crafted using traditional woodworking techniques. On show is Jean-Marie Massaud’s Kiam Dining Table featuring hand-carved blocks concealing storage and Naoto Fukasawa’s Bunna Chair, which has a seat indented with markings made from hand-carving skills that were used to chisel ancient chairs out in tree logs. 

ClassiCon is showcasing Eileen Gray rugs and furniture from London’s Aram Designs’ collection (the only company in the world licensed to produce her designs). The carpets also frame Herzog & de Meuron’s latest Volkshaus solid oak lounge chair and stool, which have seats and backrests made from cord stretched over the frame, and new pieces by the brand’s long-term collaborator Sebastian Herkner. Swedish rug maker Kasthall has worked with Hermès designer Cecilie Manz, who has introduced linen into a new line of rugs called Landskab, woven in subtle colours reminiscent of the Nordic landscape. Look out too for detailing throughout the show, including equestrian buckles on chairs (Man of Parts), generously rounded chairs and lighting (Pulpo and BoConcept) and colourful furniture: pops of orange and blue (from Schönbuch and Johanson) are head-turners. 

String x Form Us With Love

Step inside the glass-lined cube at the entrance of the Odd Fellow Palace for Swedish heritage storage brand String’s showcase of its classic shelving system, which was first designed by the architect Nisse Strinning and his wife Kajsa Strinning back in 1949. The system is shown in various guises as part of its 75th anniversary celebrations.

The talking point, however, is a brand new furniture line called Center Center, which designers John Löfgren and Jonas Pettersson of Form Us With Love unveiled with the words “static storage is a concept of the past”. The ensemble is made up of modules that can be combined easily with just two connecting screws to create furniture arrangements that can be positioned vertically and horizontally. The modules anchor a series of accessories – the doors, shelves, legs, castors, trays, handles and hooks – personalising the look. 

Shaping the Future at Carl Hansen & Søn

Lovers of Danish design should swing by the Carl Hansen & Søn flagship on Bredgade 21-23, where an homage to designer Hans J Wegner – marking his 110th birthday – includes a gigantic floor-to-ceiling installation of chairs highlighting classic designs such as the Wishbone, Ox and Elbow. Equally striking is the presentation of Kaare Klint’s reintroduced Spherical Bed and refined English Chair, both lessons in simplicity. Reissues of lighting and furniture pieces by Wegner, Børge Mogensen, Vilhelm Lauritzen and Henning Koppel are being previewed here too, alongside new designs by contemporary creatives such as Rikke Frost. Step into the courtyard for outdoor furniture from EOOS and Gudmundur Ludvik.

Tekla x Artek

During the 1930s, architect and designer Aino Aalto met the Japanese ambassador to Finland with his wife, who gifted her a silk fabric with a “Kirsikankukka” cherry blossom motif. This inspired the Kirsikankukka pattern, which was printed on fabrics sold at Artek, the company she established with her husband Alvar Aalto in 1935. Fast forward to 2024, and creatives have handpainted the abstract design on the windows of the Tekla store, which not only frames the new collection but archival pieces from Artek’s 2nd Cycle, including the Stool 60 Kontrasti, first released in 1933.

Plumper, Lighter, Brighter at Tom Dixon 

Tom Dixon has staged a Copenhagen takeover at Vognmagergade 7. Amongst the offerings on show at his exhibition are his Fat and Plump sofas, alongside the Fat work office chair and Slab lounge chair and ottoman first showcased in Milan earlier this year.

There are also new lighting designs, including the Unbeaten lights. Look too for the designer’s outdoor furniture, Groove – the designer’s sneak preview of a collection, which will be launched next year.

&Tradition

A series of exhibitions at &Tradition’s four-storey flagship on Kronprinsessegade segue from the midcentury British designer Robin Day to contemporary Italian designer Luca Nichetto and its long-term Norwegian collaborators Anderssen & Voll. A series of classic pieces from the 1950s have been reissued by the brand. Don’t leave without checking out Studies of a Bench, in which five artists and studios – All the Way to Paris, Agnes Studio, Jeonghwa Seo, Savvy Studio and Studioutte – present new takes on the everyday object.

An Italian affair

A free exhibition at the Italian ambassador’s residence highlights the work of four brands: Ethimo, Moroso, Secondome and Fenix.

The resulting designs are highly innovative, and include the Match dining-ping pong table by Martinelli Venezia for Fenix (where diners are encouraged to finish a dinner party with a game over the table); and the chunky two-tone Ambo chair by CARA \ DAVIDE, which is essentially two chairs that create one design when stacked together, but can be split apart when needed.

Pinch

Pinch, led by design duo Russell Pinch and Oona Bannon, is making its debut at fashion brand Mark Kenly Domino Tan (MKDT) Studio’s city store at Strandstræde 9. Look out for new designs, including super-squashy chairs such as the Garagh armchair – upholstered in kvadrat linen – and chaise draped in linen/silk fabric by Rose Uniacke.

Transcendence 

Housed in an industrial hall formerly used to produce ship engines at District Refshaleøen, this is an odyssey into materials, from natural to bio-based, shown through the work of innovators such as Bill Amberg Studio. Look out for three new furniture collections in leather and wood from British leather specialists, including designs created for the Knepp Estate, in which the leather comes from the estate’s own longhorn cattle and ash wood from its dieback clearance.

Tactile Encounters, Gubi

In a huge showcase that has become a Gubi speciality at the world’s design festivals, the brand presents its creative universe at Orientkaj 18-20.  Alongside new furniture and lighting editions from Pierre Paulin and Mathieu Matégot, there are standout fabric finishes in every corner, notably a snazzy tiger print by Dedar. Step outside to pursue its timeless Pacha furniture by the water.