Five projects to tell the essence of 3daysofdesign 2023: focus on industrial design, circular business models, rediscovery of the classics and flexibility in furnishing solutions

As its name says 3daysofdesign, the Copenhagen design week, is not super long yet it's extremely intense: 290 events in 13 districts, for the vast majority presentations of new products by Danish or Scandinavian companies, and collectives of students and schools.

It is a decidedly no-nonsense event, in which the (mega) installations are totally absent because here the focus is once again on the object, rather than the instagrammable experience.

Is it worth visiting 3daysofdesign? Definitely yes, especially if you are lovers of Scandinavian furniture.

We have done it and, albeit with the necessary partiality that a non-exhaustive visit, we have selected for you 5 highlights, for their ability to tell the essence of 3daysofdesign: that is, the focus on industrial design, on circular business models, on the search for smart solutions and materials with little impact from an ecological and economic point of view, on the re-edition of the classics and on flexibility in furnishing solutions.

The Boa table by Stefan Diez for Hay

In 2015, Stefan Diez made for Japan Creative – an initiative aimed at promoting Japanese craft techniques thanks to design - a table base in bamboo stems that can be assembled without tools thanks to special strings. The idea of Soba, this is the name of the concept, was to create an element (to be delivered flat-pack to save costs in logistics) capable of accommodating any top.

“It never became a product,” Stefan Diez told us during the launch of Boa at the Hay showroom on the occasion of 3daysofdesign. “The bamboo deteriorated, it didn't work. However, the idea remained absolutely valid.

From that idea, in fact, the Boa Table for Hay was born, which it is its industrial transposition.

It is a conference table of variable length from 280 to 450 cm with a very light tubular frame but with a large diameter (such as that of the bamboo canes) made of Hydro CIRCAL aluminum, (made from 75% recycled post-consumer waste), extruded in Denmark using renewable energy.

The tubes - which are delivered flat-pack - are assembled by clicking one inside the other, forming a perch: which contains all the cable management and is able to accommodate any type of slowly.

The sustainability of the concept is concentrated in this detail as well.

“The idea is that Hay sells the base and then, wherever you are in the world, you put a locally sourced or locally made top on it,” explains Stefan Diez. The shipping of the top - especially for tables of this size - is in fact an important detail to keep in mind in terms of environmental impact.

The new lighting collection by Lukas Bazle for New Works

In his work, Lukas Bazle has a focus: function and play. In other words, things must work but also be light and above all emotionally engage those who use them. It is no coincidence that the young German designer also works for Ikea after having participated in programs for emerging talents at Audi.

At 3daysofdesign, New Works presented the production version of its 2019 project, Méduse.

It is a ceiling lamp, with a paper diffuser with a honeycomb structure: by pulling a cord, it opens like a fan, changing the direction and intensity of the light emitted by the body static plant.

A brilliant idea and a natural yet surprising interaction that fits perfectly with the contemporary desire for adaptable interiors and analogical interaction with the objects that surround us.

Seemingly simple, however, it is a difficult object to make: although the project was born 4 years ago, New Works has only now presented it, in a very elegant milky white version.

The Airbag cushion by Studio Flétta for FÓLK

Icelandic brand Fólk presented a circular economy project by Studio Flétta in partnership with auto parts dealers: a series of cushions made with already exploded airbags.

The most interesting side - in addition to the aesthetic pleasure and usability of the final product - is the starting point: the designers decided what to do only after studying the weakest link in the reuse chain together with the dealers. recycling of automotive components.

The airbag is in fact one of the least recyclable waste coming from crashed cars and ends up directly in the landfill.

However, the plastic of which an airbag that has already exploded is made is very resistant: a kind of donut in a beautiful pastel color and with colorful embroidery, perfect for transforming into a cushion for the children's room or for yoga.

Once it was decided that the airbags would become soft furnishings, the designers set up a circular material sourcing process to arrive at the final product.

The first to be hired were the dealerships of scrapped cars in Europe: they are the ones who supply the airbags necessary for production. The inner cushion is made with manufacturing leftovers for the padding of 66°North's extreme clothing (it's called Power Fill and already comes from 100% recycled materials). Sewing was born from a collaboration with a non-profit association for social and economic reintegration (Huset Venture).

Crackle vase by Asa Jungnelius for Kosta Boda

Like all historical brands, even for the famous Swedish company Kosta Boda of art glass the challenge of today is to find a commercial positioning capable of combining the know-how of one's own craftsmen with contemporary design.

To succeed in this enterprise it is necessary to know the processing techniques extremely well and to push them beyond the fence of the "already made", combining this technical approach with an aesthetic taste capable of exciting an international public.

Asa Jungnelius, artist in love with glass since she was a little girl, succeeded with her collection of Crackle vases which translated the nightmare of any glass blower - the crushed material - into the raison d'être of the project. In fact, here it is used to give beauty and character to the object.

The mold is hand dug out of the clay and the cracked surface is formed using an ancient technique where hot glass is dipped in ice cold water. The result is a series of objects whose expression changes according to perspective and distance, reminiscent of sculptures made of colored ice.

It is an interesting project because it showcases the contemporary potential of artistic craftsmanship when combined with design. It is no coincidence that the manufacturing process of Crackle by Kosta Boda received in 2023 the 'Best of the Best' of the Red Dot Design Award.

The 77 chair by House of Finn Juhl

Who says Finn Juhl says iconic furnishings, with hyper-organic shapes, extremely complicated to make because they arise from mind of an architect who - we are between the 40s and 60s - however had the passions of an artist.

Basically sculptures for the living room, made at the time by specialized cabinet makers by adapting the master's sketches in a creative tandem that he made school.

Within this panorama, the new re-edition presented at 3daysofdesign, the 77 Chair designed in 1954, instead stands out for its sobriety, linearity, inspiration almost like Bauhaus.

“There is nothing iconic about it, it is a surprisingly sober object”, they say from House of Finn Juhl, “and for this reason it seemed decidedly contemporary to us: less demanding, more adaptable in terms of finishes and colours”.

Indeed, it is an armchair with square shapes, with well-defined corners, very far from the typical curves of Finn Juhl's hand. With extraordinarily padded and surprisingly comfortable, made with a spring padding even for the backrest. Sitting on it is actually an experience…