The new rules of Danish design – Reinventing a heritage
Saturday 7 September —
14:00
- 14:45
The Talks — Hall 7
Description
With a renowned legacy of design, Denmark has been a significant influence within the creative world for decades. Today, emerging designers are helping to sustain its heritage with a renewed vision while honouring what has gone before. In a conversation with Gesa Hansen, David Thulstrup and emerging design duo Christian and Jade, we look at the presence of Danish design today and how it is continuing to evolve while staying true to the aesthetics and principles that have previously set it apart.
Participants
Gesa HansenDesigner
David ThulstrupArchitect and designer
Christian + JadeDesigner
Roddy ClarkeJournalist
Gesa Hansen
Designer
Gesa Hansen is a German-Danish designer who graduated from the Bauhaus University in Weimar, where she studied as the recipient of a Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung scholarship. Hansen gained her first professional experience in Jean Nouvel's Paris architecture office, in the French design studio H5, and in various design offices in Nagoya and Tokyo, before founding her own family business, The Hansen Family, in 2009, for which she designs high-end Scandinavian-style wooden furniture. A renowned interior designer and winner of several Red Dot Awards, she is also responsible for the design of numerous hotels, restaurants and private residences. Hansen has repeatedly been voted one of AD magazine's top 100 designers of the year.
David Thulstrup
Architect and designer
David Thulstrup is an award-winning architect and designer whose refined and holistic approach to architecture, interiors and product design combines his Scandinavian heritage with a modern design language. As the founder and creative director of Studio David Thulstrup, David has completed an extensive portfolio worldwide ranging from residential architecture to restaurants, retail, hotels, furniture and lighting. His interior of Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, as well as winning multiple awards, set a design benchmark, melding elegant craft and comfort with a strong sense of place, or stedsans as it is expressed in Danish. David’s practice is grounded upon enduring Scandinavian values of honesty and humanism with a particular emphasis on materiality. A central tenet is a concern for how people feel. By taking a holistic approach to each aspect of a project David creates spaces where people are comfortable and embraced by their surroundings. Pivotal to this, is a deep understanding of how a space will be used or lived in. Designing space from the inside out, David considers light, color, form and materials as architectural elements. Describing his style as ‘modern simplicity’, David creates pared-back designs that feel current but will stand the test of time. This requires meticulous attention to detail, curiosity and ambition. Using diverse materials in an honest and thoughtful way is central as is functionality and tactility. To achieve a harmonious interplay between the architecture and the elements within, he often creates custom furniture and lighting. David holds a Masters in Interior Architecture from the Danish Design School and is an Architect MAA and member of the Danish Association of Architects. Before founding the studio in 2009, David worked on residential, commercial and institutional projects for Jean Nouvel in Paris and on luxury retail projects for Peter Marino in New York.
Christian + Jade
Designer
Christian+Jade is the design studio of Christian Hammer Juhl (DK) and Jade Chan (SG). Currently based in Copenhagen, they explore design as an artistic form of expression with a special focus on craft and material. Christian+Jade is founded on the desire to create works that can challenge and deepen the relationship we have to the objects and spaces we inhabit, as a way of shifting our attitudes towards how we live and consume. Through contextualizing their design process and result within historical and culture narratives around materials and objects, they manifest design pieces that are raw and honest in material expression and intent.
Roddy Clarke
Journalist
A graduate of Cambridge University’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership, Roddy Clarke is a design writer looking at the social and environmental impacts of design. With a background in restoration, Roddy covers topics such as circularity, responsible design, and the presence of traditional craft in a contemporary society. Contributing to titles such as The Financial Times and Forbes, Roddy also hosts and speaks across various industry events while also consulting with brands to help them navigate their way to a greener future through transparent and honest communication. Roddy also works as an interior stylist for a variety of brand-related projects.