'Morild' light installation by Astrid Krogh
Astrid Krogh, educated textile designer, creates the most sophisticated light installations using sources such as neon lights, LEDs or optic fibres. Her newest piece is this delicate ‘light tapestry’ which is currently exhibited within Astrid’s solo exhibition at Galleri NB in Viborg, Denmark. ‘Morild’ consists of a perforated wooden wall with illuminated spots – the endings of fiberoptic threads which are arranged in fragments of an ornament. The light source can be programmed to switch coulor and intensity in fast or slow intervals.
The exhibition LYS(T)VEJ will be open until 18 september 2010.
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Henning Koppel's 'BUBI' pendant light, relaunched by Danish lighting manufacturer Pandul
Danish lighting manufacturer Pandul has brought a striking piece of classic Scandinavian design back to life by relaunching Henning Koppel’s ‘BUBI’ pendant light. Designed in 1972 and produced by Louis Poulsen until 1980, the reedition by Pandul sees the original brass component of the lamp substituted with chrome, whose brilliance acknowledges the designer’s renowned body of work in silver for, among others Georg Jensen. Koppel’s ‘Silver Fish Platter’ from 1954 is perhaps his best-known work in this metal.
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'Skybox House' by Primus Arkitekter, photo by Tina Krogager
North of the island Zealand is traditionally the area where people from Copenhagen have a small and lo-fi summerhouse. The Copenhagen based practice Primus Arkitekter recently realised this modest 75m2 example which is characterised by the typical wooden cladding, large openings and several skylights.
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Stool made from recycled aluminium by Mater
With this series of stools made from recycled aluminium the Danish manufacturer Mater is participating in the fair trade workshop SUSBIZ India managed and audited by the Danish Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises together with the Danish Commerce and Companies Agency. The objective of the project is to strengthen the ability of Danish companies and their Indian suppliers to create synergies between social and environmental improvements and core business.
‘High Stool’ by Signe Bindslev Henriksen and Peter Bundgaard Rützou (Space) is made from old car components and other waste and manufactured entirely by hand with the use of old traditional casting methods.
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Århus Gymnastics and Motor Skills Hall by C.F. Møller, photo by Poul Nyholm
With branches in London, Oslo and Copenhagen and the headquarter in Aarhus C.F. Møller Architects is one of the oldest and largest architectural practices in Scandinavia. Recently they unveiled their newest project, the Aarhus Gymnastics and Motor Skills Hall. The idea of this new kind of activity center which builds an extension of the Aarhus Gymnastics and Trampoline Hall is to invite and motivate children aged three to ten to develop motor skills while having fun playing. Possible future users of the hall are sporting associations, schools, youth centres, kindergartens, families etc.
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'Nara' chair by Shin Azumi for Fredericia Furniture
Tokyo- and London-based Shin Azumi has designed a new chair for Danish brand Fredericia Furniture, which, with its horn-shaped backrest, has a playful zoomorphism about it. According to the manufacturer, the back element was the starting point for the designer as he set about creating the piece. ‘Azumi first defined the top edge and vertical supports of the backrest to get the best level of comfort and to create maximum support. All superfluous material from the backrest was then removed,’ says the company.
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Red Blue Motion Totem by Malene Landgreen, 2010
‘Red Blue Motion Totem’ is the meaningful name of Malene Landgreen’s current exhibition at Esbjerg Kunstmuseum in her home country Denmark. The installation was realised on the occasion and celebration of the 100th birthday of Danish painter Richard Mortensen. With her giant wall-paintings combined with mirrored columns Malene Landgreen pays tribute to the expressive work of the jubilee and created an optical illusion which dissolves the central perspective and splits the space into striking colour fields – one could call it ’3d-cubism’.
The exhibition will be open until 5 September 2010.
Red Blue Motion Totem by Malene Landgreen, 2010
Red Blue Motion Totem by Malene Landgreen, 2010
Red Blue Motion Totem by Malene Landgreen, 2010
Red Blue Motion Totem by Malene Landgreen, 2010
to the Malene Landgreen website
'Silver', detail, by Annemette Beck
Annemette Beck lives up to Denmark’s reputation for textile design. Famous for her experiments with new combinations of structures and materials such as rubber, paper yarn, all kinds of metal threads etc. the work of the Danish weaver and textile designer covers rugs, upholstery fabrics, runners, blinds and room dividers.
'Silver' panels by Annemette Beck
'Rubber rug' by Annemette Beck
'Bicycle' detail
Different panels by Annemette Beck
to the Annemette Beck website
Mater collection
The most obvious way to produce sustainable and eco-friendly furniture is still the ‘old fashioned’ way – local materials and high quality locally manufactured. The Danish manufacturer Mater pays tribute to the ‘simpler time in our lives’. In 2008 it created together with Copenhagen based designer Søren Rose the ‘High School History Lesson’ series – a limited edition of furniture produced from recycled gym floorboards. With ‘Gymnasium’ they launched a mass-produced series that uses renewable pine and controlled Danish oak with water-based fixatives and varnishes. All pieces are manufactured by Denmark’s oldest cabinet makers Bruno Hansen carpentry.
'Gymnasium' oak edition
“Like its predecessor, Gymnasium honors its past while investing in the future. For every piece purchased, mater donates a percentage of the profits to promoting sports in developing countries, allowing a new generation to be inspired to play and create… For every one of the million of products we use to improve the quality of our lives, there are associated environmental, ethical and social consequences. while some products have a small environmental bearing, others consume finite resources in vast quantities and are produced under conditions of labour abuse and environmental damage.”
'Gymnasium' pine edition
'Gymnasium' old edition
to the ‘Gymnasium’ website
Denmark's EXPO-Pavilion by BIG, photo by Iwan Baan
She has been beheaded, painted and blown up, but this time it was not some troublemakers who kidnapped the original Little Mermaid, Copenhagen’s beloved landmark, from her rock. From May til October visitors of the World EXPO in Shanghai will be able to see her elegantly sitting in Denmark’s pavilion designed by Bjarke Ingels Group.
The actual attraction though is the conceptual background of the pavilion. Denmark donated 1001 bikes to the city of Shanghai in order to focus on an ecological urban development of the world’s fast growing mega-cities.
Denmark's EXPO-Pavilion by BIG, photo by Iwan Baan
“We weren’t really finding an obvious hook for our pavilion until we started looking at the recent urban development of Shanghai and Copenhagen. This is a photo of Shanghai from 30 years ago: broad boulevards jam packed with bicycles. Only 2 kinds of cars in Shanghai back then: Shanghai no 1 and Shanghai no 2.
With the massive economic boom and urban explosion everybody wants a car, the streets are congested with traffic jams, and the bicycle has even become forbidden in some parts of town.
In the same period of time, Copenhagen has been creating more bicycle lanes and reducing car traffic. The bicycle has become a symbol of a sustainable city and a healthy lifestyle.
We have developed multiple species of bikes to move not only ourselves but our kids and our stuff around as well.
We even have a so-called City Bike that visitors can borrow for free and move around town before they return.
We thought: Why don’t we relaunch the bicycle as something attractive in Shanghai. We’ll donate 1001 City Bikes to Shanghai that they can keep after the Expo.” BIG explains.
Denmark's EXPO-Pavilion by BIG, photo by Iwan Baan
“The pavilion is designed as a traffic loop created by the motion of city bikes and pedestrians tied in a knot. Over 300 free city bikes located upon the roofscape, offer the visitors a chance to experience the Danish urban lifestyle which includes biking everywhere. The loops are connected in two places. Coming from the inside, the visitors can move out onto the roof, pick up a bike and re‐visit the exhibition by bike as the outdoor cycle path slips into the interior and runs along the entire exhibition before exiting onto the EXPO grounds. The sequence of events at the exhibition takes place between two parallel facades – the internal and external. The internal is closed and contains different functions of the pavilion. The width varies and is defined by the programme of the inner space. The pavilion’s external façade is made of perforated steel. In the evening time, the façade becomes a sequenced instrument of interactive light illuminating the passers‐by.”
Denmark's EXPO-Pavilion by BIG, photo by Hanne Hvattun
“The pavilion is a monolithic structure in white painted steel which keeps it cool during the Shanghai summer sun due to its heat‐reflecting characteristics. The roof is covered with a light blue surfacing texture, known from Danish cycle paths. Inside, the floor is covered with light epoxy and also features the blue cycle path where the bikes pass through the building. The steel of the facade is perforated in a pattern that reflects the actual structural stresses that the pavilion is experiencing making it a 1:1 stress test. The blue cycle path and white concrete surfaces will further define the arrival and exit areas.”
Denmark's EXPO-Pavilion by BIG, photo by Iwan Baan
PS: By the way, while the mermaid is in Shanghai her place in Copenhagen will be replaced by Ai Wei Wei’s multimedia artwork, including a live broadcast of the statue in Shanghai.
to the BIG profile @ Architonic
