In a dynamic and welcoming atmo- sphere, SHOWHOW explores the latest trends in sustainable Danish design. Seeing possibility not limitation, a new generation of designers is seeking long term answers to today’s problems. Their work demonstrates a renewed faith in the future – a future that offers novel materials & technologies, ethical business models, and surpris- ing social innovations. Visitors are placed at the heart of the action – people can cook, taste, try new fashions and ride bikes. So if you’re seeking to create positive vision of the future, let SHOWHOW show how. SHOWHOW is developed by the Danish Design Centre and the Danish Ministry of Culture. SUSTAINABLE DESIGN WITH A LOVING TOUCH
Transcript
In a dynamic and welcoming atmo-sphere, SHOWHOW explores the latest trends in sustainable Danish design.
Seeing possibility not limitation, a new generation of designers is seeking long term answers to today’s problems. Their work demonstrates a renewed faith in the future – a future that offers novel materials & technologies, ethical business models, and surpris-ing social innovations.
Visitors are placed at the heart of the action – people can cook, taste, try new fashions and ride bikes. So if you’re seeking to create positive vision of the future, let SHOWHOW show how.
SHOWHOW is developed by the Danish Design Centre and the Danish Ministry of Culture.
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After the move from fast food to slow food, the next sustainable change of pace may be from fast to slow clothes. Guðrun & Guðrun’s stunning ready-to-wear collections are a great example. Made from the finest yarn and lambskins, most of the knits are organic – using 100% untreated and undyed Faroese wool from sheep brought to the islands a thousand years ago by Vikings. Each garment is hand knitted by Faroese and Jordanian women who work from home, operating as micro businesses. With the garment industry having a major environmental and social impact, perhaps it’s time to quickly move towards slow clothes.
GUDRUN & GUDRUNHandmade & organic ‘slow clothes’
FORBOExploring the potential of a sustainable material Designing sustainably can mean coming up with the perfect solu-tion to one specific problem but it can equally mean opening up possibility and encouraging inventiveness. Forbo took the second option, teaming up with an architect and an artist to explore the potential for linoleum. Traditionally seen as a material for floor covering, linoleum was reimaged as a flexible 3D model called the Diamond. Not just an interesting design exercise, the Diamond matters be-cause linoleum is 100% natural and made from renewable materi-als like linseed oil, pine rosin, wood flour and jute. Opening up the material for other designers to explore further – the Diamond says “over to you.”
Julian KyhlPrecision design gets more from resources
Less truly is more in sustainable design. As Julian Kyhl showswith his Timber table, a savvy use of our limited resources canproduce a design that’s much more than the sum of its parts.Constructed from just 10 pieces of FSC certified wood, and usingno screws, nails or glue, Timber is a lesson in restrained elegance.Smart design and precision carpentry mean that each pieceslots together perfectly. Disassembly just takes minutes and Timber packs down to a highly transportable package. Beautiful and deceptively simple, Julian Kyhl’s work is a sign of the shapes to come.
Tom Rossau Environmentally sensitive lighting
Seeing the possibility not limitation in sustainable design, anew generation of designers is seeking to create positive changewhile continuing to delight the senses.Take these lamps from Tom Rossau. All about shape and form,the lamps are constructed from birch veneer sourced from sustain-ably managed forests in Finland. The amazing shapes arepossible because of the material’s qualities – light weight, flexibility and strength.Technically sophisticated and producing a warm quality of light,the result is an object that looks good 24 hours a day. As Tom’swork shows, exploring the environmental potential of the latesttechnologies can give a stunning visual impression.
NOVOZYMES FOOD AND BEVERAGEBeer production that generates less CO2
Bioinnovation company, Novozymes, and Danish brewery, Harboe,recently proved that pursuing sustainability can refreshboth your thinking and your taste buds.Their partnership produced Clim8 beer, which uses Novozymesenzymes blend to create a beer using barley as the only raw mate-rial. Their process works in synergy with the enzymes naturallyoccurring in the barley during the brewing process. This not onlyproduces a great tasting beer but results in a CO2 reduction of8% compared with standard production methods.With innovative breweries such as Harboe embracing new technol-ogy and thinking, we can continue to look forward to raisinga glass (or two) in celebration.
MUNIOInterior products with a long term future
As the beautiful and deceptively simple bowls from Munio demon-strate, the creation of a single object can take the designeron a journey into social and environmental sustainability thatproduces novel solutions.Munio manufactures beautiful and functional products underthe Canopy Wood code of conduct, a further development ofthe FSC eco-label. Canopy Wood ensures the exclusive use oflesser known timber species. This prevents the ruthless exploita-tion of particular popular species, helping to prevent the forest’sbiodiversity.Munio seeks to protect the rainforest by using it in a sustainableway, creating a lasting resource that benefits us all, including thelocal people.
TRE-FORNext generation thinking for goods delivery
For a preview of the big changes to come, it’s worth looking to thenext generation of designers.Take this electric scooter project from Kolding Design School stu-dents. The Cargo Pal is an answer to the sustainable transporta-tion of goods in urban areas. Its rounded form gives Cargo Pal a futuristic appearance yet, with optimal load placement, this is a viable solution.Seeing the potential in the students’ work, Danish energy com-pany Tre-For developed this working prototype. With a speed of 45 kms/hour and a range of 50 kms, Cargo Pal might be delivering to your door in the not too distant future.
MATERExquiste design combines with social engagement
A socially engaged business can capitalize on its influence toimprove working practices of people around the world. Maternot only produces desirable objects but pursues an ethical busi-ness strategy that supports people, local craft traditions and theenvironment. Their latest creation, Papillon Stitched Chair, proves the point.Manufactured in Jaipur, India, its organic design relies on localcraftsmanship. Constructed from vegetable-tanned leatherand black-oxidized recycled steel (no paint), the Papillon StitchChair mixes traditional skills and great design with green technol-ogy. Mater matters for the their exquisite designs and sociallyengaged practices, and as an exemplar to other companies.
NOVOZYMES TEXTILESEnvironmentally sensitive high tech fabrics
Novozymes is out to start a sustainable chemical reaction. Theirnew ‘elemental’ fabrics replace some of the harsh chemicalsused in traditional materials with enzymes, a natural proteinmolecule.The result is a sleek, superior fabric that’s softer, harder wearingand more drapable. Kind to the environment, its production usesless water and energy, which means reduced co2 emissions andhealth-damaging particles. It’s also more efficient, getting morefabric from the same amount of cotton.The appliance of science to fashion might sound a little outthere but, if you ask Novozymes, thinking sustainability into fab-rics isn’t something special – it’s elemental.
NIHOLASustainable transport for people with children
The bicycle is the symbol of sustainable urban living. Quick,non-polluting and calorie burning, it sounds like the perfect an-swer for everyone. But what happens if you get children?The answer in Copenhagen, and increasingly around the world,is to get a Nihola family bike. Designed and manufactured inDenmark, the Nihola is light, stable and strong. With its front-wheel steering system and a cabin that surrounds and protects,it can carry two children in safety and comfort.With around 7,000 Nihola bikes on the streets of Copenhagenand more around the world, this is an urban transportation con-cept that’s going places.
JACKPOT ORGANICFashion that marries ethics with aesthetics
Ethics and aesthetics walk hand-in-hand down the Jackpot Organic catwalk. With environmentally sensitive materials and sociallyresponsible practices, Jackpot’s business model is an ensemblecreation that’s very of the moment but has the staying power tobecome a design classic.Together with MADE-BY, a Dutch organization that works to ensuresafe and healthy working conditions, Jackpot Organic now providea ‘trace and track’ feature for each garment. This let’s their cus-tomers see the entire production online – who picked the cotton,who spun it, wove it, dyed it and sewed it.Not just the latest trend, this is sustainable fashion that stays trueseason after season.
SIKA DESIGNClassic design in a renewable raw material
Sika-Design weaves sustainable business practices and classicDanish design into their ‘Originals Collection’. Informed by theirdesign archive from the 50s and 60s, the pieces are created inrattan – a precious yet renewable material.Sourced from Asian forests, rattan is lightweight, durable, yetflexible. Growing like vines, its weight supported by trees, rattanis easy to harvest and transport – providing a profitable crop thatdepends on rather than replaces trees.Sika was recently awarded the SA8000 standard for their treat-ment of suppliers, which means that you can relax in the knowl-edge that the Originals Collection not only support you in stylebut the environment and society too.
PETER KLINTSustainable quality that lasts a lifetime
Sustainable thinking relies on new ideas but this shouldn’tmean ignoring everything that went before – sometimes lookingback can be a step forward.Take Peter Klint’s modern take on the traditional ‘four frame’kitchen unit. Unlike many contemporary kitchens, Peter Klint’swork is made from solid wood which will age well and can berepaired. The fact Peter recommends nothing more than a coatof paint every 20 years is a rare and powerful testimony to theproduct’s longevity.If it’s true that quality doesn’t go out of style, then these kitchenunits are a recipe for a more sustainable future.
SHOWHOWSustainable design with a loving touch
Curator / Frederikke AagaardCommunication / Iben Højer HansenExhibition Architecture / WEM3Graphic Art Director / PropelCopywriting / Mark Stevens
