8 Designer Débuts At Copenhagen’s 3daysofdesign Festival

Denmark’s annual design event has continued to grow since its beginnings in 2013. This year, over 200 exhibitions fanned out across the capital’s showrooms, shops, streets, and museums from June 15-17.

Welcoming visitors, a graphic identity by Luca Nichetto of Nichetto Studio featured visuals alluding to iconic Danish design, local gastronomic specialties, and architectural landmarks, gently chiding all to “Remember to Play.”

Pavilion by Fritz Hansen

Fritz Hansen, celebrating 150 years, won the fair’s best exhibition award. The furniture, lighting, and accessories brand marked the anniversary with an impressive pavilion designed by architects Henning Larsen and set in the garden of the freshly-reopened Designmuseum Denmark. Post-exhibition, the sustainable wood structure will be disassembled and re-sited at the brand’s headquarters north of Copenhagen.

Happy Hook by Jaime Hayon for Fritz Hansen

A joyful new offering from Spanish designer Jaime Hayon, the Happy Hook is a purposeful-yet-playful wall-mounted hanger in solid brass and shaped with a smiling face, a reference to Hayon’s signature street tag from his youth. Available in September, the hook’s finish will patinate over time to a blue-green hue.

Tabata by Luca Nichetto for &Tradition

The brand’s Head of Design, Els Van Hoorebeeck, tapped the Stockholm-based Italian designer to bring his signature style to a lighthearted-yet-refined indoor wall lamp. Made from cast aluminum, the powder-coated fixture has a textured surface and comes in sophisticated black, subtle silk grey, and luscious dark burgundy. A frosted acrylic diffuser softens the light output. 

Sobremesa by Laila Gohar for Hay 

The stylish brand founded by Mette and Rolf Hay celebrates 20 years. An upcoming collection of kitchen and tabletop accessories by Egyptian-born and New York City-based artist and chef Laila Gohar, dubbed Sobremesa, previewed during the festival. Standouts include a whimsical striped cookie jar, cheeky embroidered table linens, and a squat painted bean pot, all debuting in stores this autumn. Gohar says, “All of the items together create an extension of my own world. I approach them as a little fantasy or dream.” The pieces promote the joy of hosting and connecting people over the table.

Beetle in 3D Veneer by GamFratesi for Gubi

First introduced in 2013 by Danish-Italian architect duo Stine Gam and Enrico Fratesi, the Beetle chair secured a cameo in the 2019 film “Always be My Maybe.” Now with a material makeover in 3D veneer, its shell even more closely mimics its insect inspiration. GamFratesi notes, “The design language of the Beetle chair lends itself to be rendered in wood, which underscores its ‘inspired by nature’ story.” The molded wooden shell comes in oak or American walnut.

Ta-Ke by Michael Anastassiades at Anker & Co.

The London-based designer presented a family of floor lamps dubbed Ta-ke crafted of natural waxed bamboo poles atop powder-coated steel bases. Delicate wire springs hold a custom-built, self-powdered linear bulb of opaline borosilicate glass with integrated LED. “I have always been intrigued by bamboo as a material and by its ability to grow in an almost perfectly straight line. I am fascinated by the thought of using it in exactly the way it grows naturally by simply cutting it at the moment it reaches its required diameter. I love the idea that I could use it without any industrial processing, by simply defining a series of parameters to determine my selection and cutting process. The project is essentially an exercise of negotiation with nature,” said Anastassiades.

Soft Colors by Ilse Crawford for CH24 Wishbone Chair from Carl Hansen & Søn

The company tapped London-based designer Ilse Crawford to develop nine new colors for the frame of Hans J. Wegner’s iconic CH24 chair, known as the Wishbone and produced continuously for over 70 years. Inspired by the natural Nordic elements found in paintings by Danish artist Per Kirkeby, the hues include Hollyhock, Terracotta, and evocative North Sea, all applied in a soft matte finish. “Colors are so closely related to our emotions and our mood,” Crawford says, “and we believe that these subdued tones will help create a warm, relaxed and natural environment.”

Nendo Collection by Oki Sato for Georg Jensen

The heritage brand founded in 1904 builds on its existing collection with Japanese designer Oki Sato of Nendo with organic-shaped candleholders and stainless steel versions of vases previously offered only in silver. Their forms inspired by nature, each Nendo vase also doubles as a carafe due to a clever integrated spout. Shown as a sneak peek, the collection will be available in November.

Tubby Tube by Faye Toogood for Please Wait To Be Seated

An installation of archival collaborations between the London-based designer and the Danish design brand included the highly-recognizable Spade chair plus Tubby Tube stools and tables. Adding to the array, a new linear pendant also dubbed Tubby Tube was launched. Presented in a room softened by fabric sculptures and a painted curtain wall, the fixtures stand out for their streamlined rigor.

Dufner Heighes Transforms a Historic House in Pelham, New York into a Modern Family Home

Flip back a page, please. Now, kick up your feet, relax—here, have a cocktail—and observe this intriguing wood-paneled room: the resolutely leafy view, that groovy triangular window, the serene quiet, the vintage-heavy furniture scheme. Bet you think this is the living room of some cozy ’70’s-mod cabin on a remote rural plot, right? Well, surprise! In fact, this is the second-floor sitting room of a painstakingly preserved century-old Edwardian-style manse within shouting distance (although please don’t; the baby’s sleeping) of the Bronx.

Dufner Heighes was the firm tasked with future-proofing the historic Pelham, New York, house for a growing family. The 7,100-square-foot dwelling has an intriguing back story. Previous owners include the island nation of Barbados, which used it as an embassy, and a Coca-Cola executive who frequently hosted President Eisenhower there back in the 1950s. Another head of state, George Washington, reportedly stayed on the property, too, in a structure that once stood on this abode’s exact footprint. That provenance piqued the interest of Erica Holborn, CEO of Sandow Design Group (Interior Design’s parent company) and a self-professed real-estate enthusiast. “I’m a house-with-a-story person,” she admits.

When Holborn and her husband, Andrew, first saw the property listing, they deemed the eight-bedroom too big for their needs. Fast forward a year later. Their Dufner Heighes–designed Sutton Place apartment was getting a bit too snug for their expanding family (especially with WFH in the mix), and their upstate getaway, a 1970’s A-frame designed by Frank Lloyd Wright protégés, was too far from the city for full-time residency. Plus, the Holborns got an offer on the latter that they couldn’t refuse. So when the price dropped on the Pelham place around the same time, they finally took a look—and were sold.

Among the structure’s many attributes was that it had been pristinely restored, from the oak millwork to the original hardware. “It was a perfect situation, because the previous owners had updated a few things, like the kitchen, but restored everything else—stripping layers of paint off moldings and all that stuff no one wants to deal with,” notes Daniel Heighes Wismer, firm copartner with Greg Dufner. In short, it was practically turnkey. Early site visits suggested the project would be primarily decorative and cosmetic: reupholstering some existing furnishings, buying new items to fill in a few gaps, replacing antique light fixtures with more modern designs, updating cabinetry, hanging artwork. Midway through planning the new kitchen, however, it became apparent the current footprint was underscaled for the size of the house and had an awkward, dinky island unsuited to cooking and dining. “During one of our meetings with the team from Bilotta, with whom we were designing the kitchen,” Wismer recalls, “someone questioned whether we could tear down a wall to annex the adjoining butler’s pantry—and that changed everything,” necessitating plumbing and electrical rerouting plus new structural steel. “My dream has always been to have a butler’s pantry,” Holborn sighs. “And then I finally buy a house with one—and promptly take it out!”

The monthslong renovation was well worth it. The new scheme is much brighter and airier, with a long Arabescato Corchia marble island that seats four, plus a window-wrapped breakfast nook. Dufner Heighes deployed two patterns of Artistic Tile terrazzo flooring, one incorporating marble chips, to create area rug–like accents that delineate spatial zones. Shaker-style cabinetry is simpatico with the period architecture yet modern enough to suit the décor. The same flooring and cabinetry also extend into an adjacent space, a former family room that now serves as a storage-packed mudroom.

The reinvention of a living space as service-oriented hub made sense, given the floorplan already offered a generous number of hangout areas, including the ground-floor salon and contiguous sunroom, a second-floor playroom for two-year-old Marlowe and baby Bodhi, a sitting room off the primary suite, and the family and game rooms that anchor the daylit basement level. “The challenge,” Dufner says, “was how to make each living space feel like it had a unique function and purpose.” Seating in particular was selected with specific activities and postures in mind. Thus the salon’s more upright Bob sectional, its firm, snakelike form perfect for perching with a glass of wine; the sunroom’s more lounge-y Bouroullec Brothers Ploum sofa, a holdover from the upstate house (albeit newly reupholstered); and the super deep, nap-conducive sofa in the family room, where TV viewing occurs.

Though the house has a traditional layout, with discrete rooms, they open graciously onto each other, and curating sight lines was particularly important. Many features were considered holistically so they would work together from room to room. On the first floor, for instance, “there are points where you can see the ceiling fixtures in the sunroom, living room, entry hall, and the dining room all at once,” Wismer explains. “So the lighting we specified all needed to work within their respective rooms and also as a cohesive group.” Furniture and other accents were chosen and placed similarly, he adds. “There was a balancing of where we could go a little wild and where something had to be toned down so it wouldn’t get too heavy or layered.”

Speaking of going a little wild, check out the dining room wallpaper. The pattern, a trippy graphic confection in riotous hues, tents the room, extending up from crisp wainscoting lacquered a mercurial green-gray color. The op art patterning is the perfect jazz riff on the abode’s 1914 bones. “The contrast between historic and modern is just so great,” says Wismer. A sentiment that summarizes the project top to bottom.

knoll: sofa

dunbar: side table

design for macha: ceiling fixture

through noguchi shop: floor lamp

garrett leather: armchair shearling

kvadrat: side chair fabric

blå station through scandinavian spaces: sofa

house of finn juhl: chairs

Gubi: coffee table

aronson’s: rug

bd barcelona through ddc: green side table.

Fredericia: daybed

lawson-fenning: vessels

bilotta: cabinetry

Artistic Tile: flooring

seungjin yang through the future perfect: pink stool

Blu Dot: yellow ottoman

through noguchi shop: pendant

Louis Poulsen: pendants

voutsa: wallpaper

e15 through stillfried wien: table

Carl Hansen & Son: chairs

iittala through fiskars group: glass birds

bd barcelona through ddc: credenza

aronson’s: rug

mitchell gold + bob williams: sofa

aronson’s: rug

Carl Hansen & Son: Lounge

Blu Dot: side table

through john derian: artwork

ligne roset: sofa

iacoli: coffee table

CB2: side table

Artistic Tile: flooring, counters

bilotta: cabinetry

Carl Hansen & Son: chairs, stools

e15 through stillfried wien: table

Louis Poulsen: pendants

casey johnson studio: custom table

Blu Dot: ottoman

through john derian: flowers

aj madison: appliances

lee jofa: wallpaper

through design within reach: rocking chair

dunbar: sofa

house of finn juhl: coffee table

floyd: shelving

stokke: crib

rejuvenation: ceiling fixture

nessen lighting: gold lamp

&tradition: coffee table, ottoman

Carl Hansen & Son: green lounge chair

mitchell gold + bob williams: sofa

aronson’s: rug

kvadrat: mama bear chair fabric

zak & fox: club chair fabric

design for macha: ceiling fixture

michael robbins: bench

lawson-fenning: bed

once milano: quilt

aronson’s: rug

flavor paper: wallpaper

Gubi: mirror

visual comfort through circa lighting: table lamps (sitting room, dining room, family room, bedroom); ceiling pendant (living room, dining room, foyer); floor lamps (living room, nursery); reading lamp (living room)

through furniture from scandinavia: items from fredericia, house of finn juhl, gubi, carl hansen & sØn, louis poulsen, and &tradition

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Draws on Architectural Harmony for the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations

Established only 50 years ago, the United Arab Emirates has, within the last two decades, emerged as a rock of geopolitical stability and a cultural magnet in the Middle East. Almost as an instrument of state policy, architecture has played a role in the UAE’s development and national image. Icons such as Jean Nouvel’s Louvre Abu Dhabi, Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s Burj Khalifa in Dubai—at 162 stories, the tallest building in the world—symbolize the dynamism of the country.

Along with its growing presence on the international cultural map, the UAE, which is about to serve again on the United Nation’s Security Council, has also emerged as a rising diplomatic force in New York. In 2014, having outgrown two floors in an office building near the UN, and needing greater presence in the city’s diplomatic milieu, the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the UN held an invited competition to design a flagship home. The New York office of SOM won the competition for an infill building on a through-block site between Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza and East 46th Street.

Besides the need for privacy and security, and a program of executive suites, offices, and lecture and reception rooms, the brief called for an aspirational design requiring architectural diplomacy: elegance without ostentation and an ethos of dignity, calm, grace, and gravity. Later, the client asked that the concept also evoke New York’s art deco landmarks as well as the Middle East’s ubiquitous palm tree, a symbol of peace and desert culture.

Diplomats now enter the mission underneath a bronze canopy cantilevered from a facade composed of long, thin, Indiana limestone mullions that climb to the top of the 10-story, 75,000-square-foot building. Recalling the tapered spines of palm leaves, the gently undulating CNC-milled mullions rise from a stone frieze at the base, itself milled with a row of stylized fronds. Using rock from quarries that supplied Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building, the understated facade introduces visitors into the decorum of a building centered around the simple pleasures of the square, the cube, and symmetry.

Just beyond the reception and security desks in the entry vestibule—its floor and walls surfaced in geometrically patterned Portuguese limestone—visitors step into a surprise: a two-story burst of space with a cliff of stairs that zigzag upward like a switchback version of ancient Greek propylaea. Recalling the courtyard of a traditional Emirati building, this welcoming central hall with a recessed 40-foot ceiling finished in hand-gilded metal leaf, transposes traditional Arab attitudes of hospitality to Midtown East. The simple, axially organized prism has a pharaonic architectural authority, confirmed by floors and walls uniformly clad in dark, sedimented, meticulously slip-matched St. Pierre limestone. The geometry is pure, but the room feels solid, encased, and immersive. The SOM team, led by design partner Chris Cooper, materializes abstraction: There is a there here.

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A tall box of dark stone nested within a larger, taller box of white Italian marble, the entry hall is the heart of the building, a core that initiates the interior’s sense of ceremonial progression. Functionally, it leads to event spaces on the second floor, but thematically it establishes a precedent for the reductive palette of rich, beautifully crafted stone and wood, mainly walnut, on the floors above, and for the symmetries and geometric simplicity throughout. On higher floors, secure elevator landings open onto reception courts—either carpeted or floored in wood-inlaid stone—surrounded by offices, meeting rooms, and work areas. “The planning is very consistent from bottom to top,” Cooper explains. “The stone heightens the sense of formality, and the formality lends itself to a sense of procession through the building.”

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Using no decoration or architectonic articulation of details, Cooper and his colleagues keep planes clean, edges crisp, and volumes pure. Finishes are matte rather than polished. The simplicity foregrounds the natural patterns in the veins of the marbles and grains of the wood, but it also sets the stage for design at the next scale, furnishings that bring the human hand into the project.

Cooper worked with a range of collaborators to integrate the decorative arts into a total, environmentally immersive scheme. Lebanese designer Nada Debs created contemporary sofas, armchairs, and tables for the entry hall and offices on the upper executive floors, the furniture’s edges subtly inflected with inlaid mother-of-pearl patterns. Rugs handwoven with natural fibers and dyes by Afghan craftswomen feature traditional complex motifs in nuanced colors; each one is unique, made to complement its dedicated space. The furnishings bring traditional cultural references into the interiors, rooting the building in the Middle East without lapsing into craft nostalgia. The rugs provide terrain for islands of furniture placed in traditional majlis seating arrangements, which emphasize the equality of the interlocutors.

The overall result is harmony in a low-key visual register: The tone never lapses. Each element, whether a wall of limestone or a marble table, plays a scripted part in a visual ensemble. With the precision of a Swiss watch, the parts fit seamlessly, creating apparent simplicity out of complexity. SOM has designed an architectural model of diplomatic agreement.

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skidmore, owings & merrill: tj gottesdiener; emily mottolese; charles harris; shubhra singhal; nathaniel broughton; oana bunea-velea; xian chi; norbert schlotter; ece calguner erzan; sepideh khazaei; jackie moran; angela caviezel; lauren kosson; fiona mccarthy; sarah hatch; cynthia mirbach

pentagram: graphics consultant

sbld studio: lighting consultant

desimone consulting engineers: structural engineer

cosentini associates: mep

philip habib & associates: civil engineer

four daughters architectural millwork: woodwork

lasa marmo: stonework

plaza construction: general contractor.

polycor: stair, walls, floor (entry hall)

nada debs: custom sofas, custom lounge chairs, custom tables (entry hall, executive office)

fbmi: custom rug (entry hall, offices)

solancis: wall tile, floor tile (vestibule)

viabizzuno: pendant fixtures (multipurpose room)

carl hansen & søn: chairs (multipurpose room), sofas, lounge chairs (ambassador’s office)

michael anastassiades: floor lamp (executive office), pendant fixture (meeting room)

studio e: ceiling finish (pre-function)

BassamFellows: sofa, tables (delegates’ lounge)

molteni&c: arm­chairs

marc phillips: custom rug

flos: lamps (delegates’ lounge, reception area, ambassador’s office)

campo­longhi: feature walls (delegates’ lounge, meeting room, ambassador’s office)

cassina: sofas, table (reception area)

halcon: custom table (meeting room), custom desk (ambassador’s office)

knoll: side chairs (meeting room, ambassador’s office)

pollock: curtain fabric (meeting room, ambassador’s office)

B&B Italia: tables (ambas­sador’s office)

aswa acoustic: plaster ceilings

lv wood: oak flooring

gamma: curtain wall

indiana limestone company: facade stone

empire furniture: furniture supplier

16 Furnishing Highlights from 3daysofdesign 2021 in Copenhagen

More than three days could easily be consumed to fully embrace 3daysofdesign 2021, held in Copenhagen this month—despite a global pandemic. In showrooms, galleries, and special event spaces around the city, there was no shortage of freshly launched furnishings, with much of the industry flying in directly from the Milan Furniture Fair. Once again the seemingly effortless ethos of Scandinavian design shined (or rather, was painstakingly hand-waxed to a soft touch, as one table collection is).

From a surprising candle holder met with much fanfare to a kit embracing 1970s electronics nostalgia to a round and layered easy chair and more than a few designs dusted off from the archives of Danish design masters, here are 16 furnishings that caught our eye at 3daysofdesign 2021.

Interconnect Candle Holder by Colin King Studio for Menu

A pronounced geometric celebration of a single candle that makes for an unorthodox center piece, the Interconnect Candle Holder by Colin King Studio for Menu is available in brass or painted steel.

Beogram 4000-series Service Upgrade Kit from Bang & Olufsen

Nostalgia for the 1970s is great..until you try hooking up the speakers. What if you could upgrade a record player half a century old with current tech? “We see e-waste climbing at a large scale,” said Kresten Bjørn Krab-Bjerre, creative director of design at Bang & Olufsen as he presented the electronic’s company’s Beogram 4000-series Service Upgrade Kit. With the kit, a vintage Beogram turntable1, introduced in the 1970s, can be restored and connected to a modern sound system.

Easy Chair by Verner Panton for Verpan

Plush and layered round shapes determine the geometry of Easy Chair by Verner Panton, designed in 1963. Now the sculptural, fully-upholstered chair returns to production, thanks to the archives of Verpan, the licensed manufacturer of designs by the Danish architect and designer.

Adesso by Josefine Winding for Gubi

Adesso, a limited-edition series of six cast-concrete side tables by Josefine Winding in collaboration with Gubi and available through Arden Asbæk Gallery, premiered among 15 sculptures, also by Winding, in the exhibition “Adesso: In the Moment.” A portion of the tables’ proceeds will be donated to charity SOS Children’s Villages through MyFoundation.

Jari Low by OEO Studio for Brdr. Krüger

Initially designed for Inua, world-renowned Copenhagen restaurant Noma’s Tokyo outpost, solid oak Jari low tables by OEO Studio can be shipped flat-packed. “The idea was tables as low as possible that could break down an otherwise slightly hard environment with organic and soft shapes,” says Jonas Krüger, creative director and co-owner of Brdr. Krüger, the 5th generation, family-owned manufacturer of the tables. “The different sizes can adapt to any seating setting, singled out or in clusters.” The tables are hand-waxed for a soft touch and available in six variations, from small side table to large elliptical.

Space Invaders by Luca Nichetto for Stellar Works

Stacked supersized Murano glass beads form the blown glass and steel Dhala table lamp in the new Space Invaders collection by Luca Nichetto for Stellar Works. The collection also includes an additional lamp and two trays.

Oxford by Fritz Hansen

Working from home during the global pandemic had many pining for that rare find: a comfortable, ergonomic home office chair that’s not ugly. In steps Fritz Hansen with the Oxford task chair. Initially conceived by Arne Jacobsen for professors at St. Catherine’s College in Oxford, England, the chair returns updated with modern necessities like increased lumbar support, adjustable seat, and angled armrests that tuck under a desk.

Imi by Sebastian Herkner for Pulpo

Handmade ceramic side table Imi by Sebastian Herkner for Pulpo is a colorful, shiny, and round tribute to German minimal artist Imi Knoebel. Two sizes are offered in several color combinations.

Barnum pouf by Vipp

Six-piece construction adds sculptural beauty to the versatile Pouf—be it seat, footrest, or side table—from Vipp. On the occasion of 3daysofdesign and to take full advantage of a one-of-a-kind showroom space in a century-old former pencil factory, Vipp also launched its own dining experience. An initiative to engage with the local community, Vipp Supper Club will highlight diverse chefs. First in line is Italian chef Riccardo Canella, formerly research and development sous chef at Noma.

Watercolour by Lykke Bloch Kjær

Watercolor paintings by Danish architect and designer Finn Juhl inspired the hues found in the Watercolour textile collection by Lykke Bloch Kjær for House of Finn Juhl. Locally woven by Danish weaver Kjellerup Væveri, the collection is available in 32 shades in a wool-cotton blend. Shown is Juhl’s Reading dining chair, upholstered in Blue Bonnet.

Front desk by Pedro Sottomayor for Mor

Designer Pedro Sottomayor, founder of Mor, a new Portuguese furniture brand embracing simplicity, chose a sunny Copenhagen apartment for its entry into the global market. Two nearly invisible drawers and cable storage are integrated into the slim lines of the Front desk, also by Sottomayor. Available in various sizes in solid ash, oak, or walnut, the desk can be used for home office or hotel reception.

Konami by Damian Williamson for Fredericia

The inner armrests of Damian Williamson’s upholstered Konami sofa for Fredericia softly curve inward like a ‘little wave’—hence its Japanese name, which means the same.

Recycled Noah by Trimm

For Recycled Noah, a collection of indoor lounge furniture, manufacturer Trimm Copenhagen deep dives into sustainability. Washable, zero waste, 100 percent recycled textile in earth-tones is paired with a soft, beaded interior of 100 percent recycled polyester fiber.

OW58 T-Chair by Ole Wanscher for Carl Hansen & Søn

A T-shaped backrest points out the craftsmanship of the OW58 T-Chair by Ole Wanscher for Carl Hansen & Søn. The archival piece, almost an inch higher than the one designed in 1958 to serve a taller humanity, joins the two chairs and a stool by the designer already in production by the manufacturer.

Connect Sofa by Anderssen & Voll for Muuto

Small feet are behind the elegant hover of the wood-framed Connect Sofa by Anderssen & Voll for Muuto. To achieve optimal comfort, a deep, low seat and loose upholstery conceal cold foam filing and cotton wadding.

Twiggy Wood by Marc Sadler for Foscarini

The Twiggy lamp by Marc Sadler for Foscarini earns an update just in time for its 15th birthday. With a honey-hued wood diffuser, carbon fiber stem, and a new LED circuit, Twiggy Wood is warmer in both light source and form.