An extraordinary birthday for Fritz Hansen

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of its founding, Fritz Hansen has set up a pavilion inside the Designmuseum in Copenhagen, presenting new collections. An encounter between past and future

Fritz Hansen Pavilion @ 3daysofdesign, Copenhagen
Fritz Hansen Pavilion @ 3daysofdesign, Copenhagen

A place that is already magical in its own right: the Designmuseum Denmark Grønnegården, inside one of Copenhagen’s most beautiful Rococo buildings. During this year’s 3daysofdesign, the splendid garden welcomed a spectacular pavilion designed by the studio Henning Larsen to celebrate 150 years of Fritz Hansen.

The structure, which also won the Best Exhibition Award of 3DD, was based on typically Nordic precepts: the use of natural materials, with a particular focus on capturing natural light.

“To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Fritz Hansen, we wanted to offer an experience inside a completely sustainable space, in tune with the furniture on display, to underline this company’s way of making design. In solid wood, the pavilion was carefully inserted in the garden, generating a hybrid space in which to perceive indoor-outdoor fluidity,” says Eva Ravnborg, marketing director for Denmark and partner of Henning Larsen.

A structure balanced between tradition and innovation, because as Christian Andresen, Design & Brand Ambassador of Fritz Hansen, explains, “We wanted to honor the past of Fritz Hansen, but also to look to the future.” Regarding the choice of the designers: “Henning Larsen is a leading architecture studio with remarkable experience in the field of sustainability. Like us, they apply a holistic approach to design and share our tastes in terms of materials and creative approaches.”

The simple yet spectacular structure permits natural light and surrounding greenery to enliven the space, creating an ideal setting for the presentation of the company’s icons, along with new creations and reissues, including the Anniversary Collection, the PK0a lounge chair and the PK60 table, previews of Fall 2022.

Hosting a series of talks on design, sustainability and strategy during the event, the pavilion will be utilized by the Designmuseum until mid-autumn, for various initiatives of education, exhibitions and workshops.

Furthermore: the pavilion has been built with the tenets of circular design, and when it will be dismantled all of its materials will be salvaged and reutilized for the construction of the new Fritz Hansen headquarters at Allerod.