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3 Days of Design 2023

For its 10th year, 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen offered a bounty of fresh ideas for the healthy home.

Words: Timothy Anscombe-Bell

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20 Jun, 2023

Copenhagen’s recent 3 Days of Design subverts the trade fair model in favor of a city-wide program of launches and exhibitions, spotlighting the best of Scandinavian and international design across the city’s showrooms and institutions. The event marked its 10th anniversary this year, and the WLLW team was in town to meet designers, manufacturers, clients and to soak up the bounty of fresh ideas awash in the Danish capital. Here are our design highlights.

Pioneer Collection by Maria Bruun for Fredericia

Encapsulating sculptural minimalism, the Pioneer Collection by Danish designer Maria Bruun for Fredericia consists of a series of stools made by the family-owned Danish furniture manufacturer. With a low stool, and two bar stool variants crafted in solid oak, they are precise, functional and friendly – fitting any interior. The stool’s floating top is available with a solid wood or textural upholstered seat.

Fredericia is also celebrating its achievement of B Corp certification, making a positive difference through responsible choices. Rasmus Graversen, Fredericia’s commercial director explained the certification was a preliminary milestone in the historic company’s efforts to support the transformation towards a more sustainable future.

Human Nature exhibition by Natural Material Studio

Danish materials practice Natural Material Studio unveiled its latest installation at the art gallery Copenhagen Contemporary. With a practice centred around the circular design principles of reuse, recycle, renew and rethink, the show featured fully compostable biofoam seating and biomaterial textiles draped from the vaulted ceilings – some of which were over 24-feet long.

Among the ingredients used for the handcrafted materials were natural softeners mixed with biopolymers, chalk and clay. Acting as a hub for talks from a series of renowned materials experts, the project aimed to explore the boundary between humans and nature, communicating that we are part of a large and complex natural system.

Natural materials showcased in an industrial setting. Image courtesy of Dezeen

The Human Nature Installation on show at Copenhagen Contemporary. Photo courtesy of Dezeen

Compostable biofoam forms sculptural seating. Photo courtesy of Dezeen

Under One Roof by &Tradition

Furniture and lighting brand &Tradition transformed its Copenhagen headquarters into a multisensory exploration of its brand during 3 Days of Design, showcasing new and existing collections through a series of thematically curated room designs. &Tradition's latest collections were made in collaboration with Spanish artist and designer Jaime Hayon, design studio Space Copenhagen, graphic design studio All the Way to Paris, Danish designer Hee Welling and Norwegian design firm Anderssen & Vol. Reissued historical designs included Verner Panton's Flowerpot Lamp and Jørn Utzon's JU1 Lamp.

The Rely Workshop gives an in-depth view of the Rely range, showing all available legs and shells alongside a space to build varying configurations. Photo courtesy of &Tradition

The Conversation Lounge focuses on the new Mist light by All the Way to Paris, taking cues from a misty, dewy, morning landscape. Photo courtesy of &Tradition

AHEC, The Power of Three

Three countries, three designers, three woods. This exhibition by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) looked to the next generation of Scandinavian designer-makers to highlight the creative potential of sustainable hardwood timbers. The trio of female designers include Anne Brandhøj from Denmark, Pia Högman from Sweden, and Anna Maria Øfstedal Eng from Norway.

Working with American maple, cherry and red oak, timbers which represent 40% of total volume in US hardwood forests, the designer’s open brief was simply to explore the material and to tell their own story. The striking results straddle the border between functional design and decorative objects.

Danish designer-maker Anne Brandhøj produces enigmatic objects that cross the boundary between function and sculpture. Photo courtesy of American Hardwood Export Council

Brandhøj began felling her own American cherry timber and exploring what would happen if she started shaping the wood before drying it. Photo courtesy of American Hardwood Export Council

Conversations in Sound by Bang & Olufsen

Bang & Olufsen unveiled its new Beosound A5 portable speaker, designed by Danish-Italian architecture studio GamFratesi. To celebrate their inaugural collaboration, the two staged an immersive exhibition at art gallery Christoffer Egelund, which looks at the designers’ experimental approach while exploring the relationship between people, sound and space.

The legendary audio brand is the first consumer electronics company to achieve the product circularity, health and sustainability certification, Cradle to Cradle on its speakers. With a raffia cover and oak handle, the elegant Beosound A5 blends Scandinavian design with a contemporary edge. Thoughtfully designed with longevity at its core, modular components can be upgraded, customized or replaced as needed or when tech specs change, future-proofing the product. Bang & Olufsen are guaranteeing a minimum 10-year first lifecycle on the Beosound A5.

Beosound A5 blends Scandinavian design with a contemporary edge. Photo courtesy of 3 Days of Design

290 Exhibitors took part in 3 Days of Design, welcoming guests into their spaces to discover new and beloved collections of furniture, lighting, accessories and materials. Photo courtesy of 3 Days of Design

Noah x Gubi launches MR01 special edition

Designed for outdoor meditation and relaxation, Danish furniture manufacturer Gubi’s MR01 Outdoor Lounge Chair by Mathias Steen Rasmussen is the epitome of laidback living. Inspired by a shared passion for the free and easy coastal lifestyle, Gubi has joined forces with New York based fashion brand Noah, to present the chair in a fresh new palette (think yellow, royal blue and navy). Made in sustainably sourced and weather resistant iroko wood with a distinctive coloured rope seat, the MR01 makes an unmistakeable nod to nautical style.