A Material Turn in Danish Design
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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Contributors
Keywords
Danish Design, Material Turn, Imperfect Materials, Waste Reduction, Material Responsibility, Circular Design
Abstract
What happens when design begins with what is usually rejected?
This publication tells the story of a shared ambition: to rethink the role of materials in Danish furniture design. Emerging from a vision set in motion in 2024, it revisits a collective effort across the Danish furniture industry through six experimental collaborations developed by Design Lab at Aalborg University together with Fritz Hansen, NORR11, Muuto, FRIIS & MOLTKE, FDB Møbler, BOLIA, and manufacturing partners.
These experiments explore how materials often considered imperfect, surplus, or discarded can become the starting point for new forms of value. Together, they invite a material turn in Danish design - one shaped by care, curiosity and responsibility, where discarded resources become opportunities, material complexity becomes a design driver, and new futures emerge through collaboration.
Author Biographies
PhD Fellow in Imperfect Aesthetics, AAU Design Lab
Linda Nhu Laursen is Associate Professor and Head of Research at AAU Design Lab at the Faculty of Industrial Design at Aalborg University, Denmark. Her research focus is to understand how design and innovation can enable the sustainable transformation of the environment and society.