More than anything else 3 Days of Design is an open invitation to the showrooms, galleries and offices of Denmark’s most influential brands and producers.
It’s a very Danish affair, Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design. But this small annual event is neither a design fair nor a Design Week type event, there are no awards or competitions, in fact there are few or no new product launches. 3 Days of Design serves more as an open invitation to visit the various of brands, showrooms and galleries that are clustered throughout Copenhagen, providing free transportation, plenty of fluids and a few parties along the way. Arguable the event is more rooted in the quintessential Danish notion of hygge (meaning something along the lines of relaxing and having a good time just for the sake of it, yes, they have a word for all of that) rather than in event marketing as such. 3 Days of Design does however provide some insights into the current state of danish design and in particular the role of tradition and history vis-a-vis innovation and emerging design.
It should be noted though that some of the more recent brands and producers such as HAY, Normann Copenhagen and Makers With Agendas are not part of this event.
But we start at the beginning, the idea behind 3 Days of Design originates in Pakhus 48, a cluster of brands and showrooms located right in the middle of the Nyhavn redevelopment zone. This former freeport has until recently been home to mainly nondescript import/export companies and shore services for cruise ships but now the whole area is bustling with major construction and infrastructural projects. Pakhus 48 has a vantage point over the emerging district with views of the House of Standards and the UN-City by 3XN, but the area is still mostly just a giant construction site. The Pakhus 48 building itself is home to some of the most recognizable Danish brands such as Kvadrat, Montana, and Erik Jørgensen as well as Luceplan and GRID. But, the by far most recognizable brand is Fritz Hansen, if not by name – by its products, in particular the ubiquitous Series 7 shell chair by Arne Jacobsen. To mark the 60th anniversary of the chair’s design, Fritz Hansen has introduced a new color scheme in collaboration with artist Tal R. For another project, with the somewhat unimaginative title 7 Cool Architects, seven of the most prolific architect practices around today has been invited to interpret the iconic chair. Neri & Hu presents the perhaps most elegant version, a sort of lovers seat, true to the original chair. Zaha Hadid Design repeats the soft curvature of the seat in the base, creating a continuous loop of tubular steel as base rather than four separate legs. Snøhetta on the other hand has simply eliminated the base envisioning a portable version of the original chair. Jun Igarashi Architects has retained the original design but has used a type of laminate made out of recycled wood for the seat. It should also be noted that participants also include Jean Nouvel Design and BIG.
After Fritz Hansen’s low key, Scandinavian mid-century type of showroom, Montana’s showroom comes as a chromatic chock. Color has always been an important element for Montana’s Furniture system developed by Peter J. Lassen and now colors are also introduced for Verner Panton’s Wire Shelving Unit (previously only chromed). GRID, the company next-door to Montana, is actually a splinter project of Lassen, taking the modular logic behind Montana even further. The system is extremely minimalist and based only on attachable cubes made out of nylon and fiberglass, measuring 40 x 40 x 40 cm. This system is as close as you get to a life size game of Tetris and include accessories such as mirrors, shelves, solid sides, doors and upholstered seating.
Next is Kvadrat, and they always makes it worthwhile visiting their exhibitions as they have managed to deliver relevant projects for almost fifty years now. For this event they have made an installation with new Faces collection from German designer Isa Glink for Swedish Kinnasand, which Kvadrat acquired a few years ago.
In an old repurposed tobacco factory across the street form Pakus 48, GUBI’s HQ is situated. Most of the building’s 2000 square meters is dedicated to a huge showroom with all current products on display. For this event however the central area is reserved for the re-issue collections of Hungarian /French Mathieu Matégot and the Paradise Collection by Swedish Kerstin Hörlin-Holmquist. These are designs that have done well in recent years on the auction and vintage circuit and it will be interesting to follow if this demand will translate into re-issue sales. In any case the new fabrics for the Paradise series are most striking.
In a different part of the harbor, surrounded by waterfront housing in their final stages of construction, stands the Silo. The ground floor gallery is usually a showroom for developer By & Havn, but has for this occasion been taken over by the Re-Framing Danish Design exhibition organized by Danish™ and Frame Magazine, featuring Sebastian Herkner and Heyniek aka Niek Pulles. Herkner’s contribution is an anatomical examination of the craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail that signifies the danish manufacturing tradition. By custom manufacturing metal stands with integrated magnifying points, Herkner guides the visitor through the individual designs highlighting their particular qualities. Heyneik’s approach couldn’t be more different, an anarchic mix of fashion, primitivistic impulses and subjective experience. The irreverence of Heynek brings the exhibition to a refreshing counterpoint.
Meanwhile, downtown, Rud. Rasmussen premiers their new showroom on Bredgade (although a visit to the workshop/showroom on Nørrebro is encouraged) just across the street from Carl Hansen and a few hundred meters from Bruun Rasmussen and vintage design dealer Klassik, to mention a few. Bredgade has long been the premier street for upscale vintage commerce, no bargains to be made, but on the other the street offer a comprehensive review of Danish design history for free.
A couple of blocks away, Muuto invites to their version of new Nordic design at their penthouse offices and occasional showroom, it’s a bright and white space interjected with monochromatic items and furniture. Last year Muuto introduced the then almost finished Fiber chair, this year more variations have been added also a forthcoming pouf is on display.
Not far from Muuto is a new location for this year is Frederiksgade1, a building located just behind the Marble Church, less than five minutes on foot from Amalienborg Palace. On the ground floor facing the streets is Nyt i Bo, a retailer of mainly design classics but with a large display of Michael Anastassiades String and IC lights for Flos and M/AU Studios‘ shelving systems. In the back of the building is Onecollection’s new showroom with their collection of Finn Juhl furniture. On the second floor is the new old Please Wait To Be Seated showroom and gallery, and a two new acquaintances, File under Pop, a small manufacture of wallpaper and tiles and &Shufl a kitchen customizing firm that also happen to act as agent for Lasvit. And perhaps Fredriksgade1 best sums up the business side of Danish design today – a peaceful coexistence between old and new, tradition and innovation.
But a more visionary and philosophical interpretation on these themes is found a few blocks away at newly renovated St. Pauls Pharmacy, the offices and showroom of Frama. This nineteenth century pharmacy turned showroom premiered last year during the 3 Days of Design event. For this year Frama has commissioned Nathalie Schwer and Emil Søgaard Jacobsen to create an multilayered installation based on the interaction of the genius loci and Frama’s own designs. Entitled Salon at st. Pauls Apotek this is an open ended installation where past and present are interconnected through everyday objects and architecture. The Salon combines pieces of familiar narratives and fragments of the esoteric into a singular vision. A vision that is very specific yet somehow undetermined or rather, unexplained. This is perhaps the most comprehensive, albeit ephemeral, impulse to create something different, beyond the tensions of new and old, tradition and innovation on display during these three days of design.
