“Sustainability? It has always been our focus. What we aim to do is to make our projects as sustainable as possible.” Christian Dahl, Head of Design and Operations of the Lendager Group studio based in Copenhagen, Denmark, can be blamed for this: just have a look at the Danish team’s ‘carnet’ of projects to find an immediate and concrete confirmation of his words.
The Danish Pavilion for Tokyo 2020, hypersustainable and with a touch of Lego
Conceived for the Olympic Games rescheduled to 2021, this surprising building is made of 2,500 chairs in wood and recycled plastic, which design the walls like Lego ‘bricks’. It is signed by the Danish studio Lendager Group, famous all over the world for its sustainable commitment.
Photo David Zanardi
Photo David Zanardi
Photo David Zanardi
Photo David Zanardi
Credit Josep Villanueva Studio
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- Laura Ragazzola
- 24 April 2020
- Tokyo
- Lendager Group
- 2021
The most recent project, the Danish Pavilion created for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (but now postponed to 2021, due to a pandemic) is the occasion of our meeting (in unsuspicious times) with architect Dahl. “We won the competition in September 2019,” explains the designer. “The starting idea is to show the public at the Olympic Games the innovative solutions of Danish design, exploring a wide range of sectors (health, education, culture, industry, food, etc.) through precise research on materials and construction methods, always with an eye to sustainability.” The result is a surprising building conceived as a Lego maxi construction that, instead of classic bricks, uses 2,500 modular chairs (each measuring 60x60x70 cm), made with wood from the Fukushima earthquake region, and recycled plastic.
The pavilion will be built around the iconic fountain in Hibiya Park, Tokyo’s green lung, to create a space that is always open to the public. “But only when visitors enter inside, through the huge arched openings that design the pavilion, will they realize that all the walls are made with chairs stacked one on top of the other. Chairs that they will be able to buy once the structure is dismantled,” concludes the designer.
The project is developed by the Danish Ministry of Industry and Finance and VisitDenmark in collaboration with The Danish Industry Foundation and Realdania.
Christian Dahl, Head of Design and Operations of the Danish studio Lendager Group shows the chair-module that works as a sort of Lego brick to build the walls of the pavilion.
Once separated, each module works like a seat with a double function: using the long side as a backrest, it is a classic dining chair, but by turning the seat upside down, it becomes a sort of lower and more comfortable armchair. The 2500 chairs that make up the pavilion will be numbered and, once the structure has been dismantled, will be sold to the public.
The wooden model of the Danish Pavilion is on display in the central area of the Copnehagen office, dedicated to the presentation of the current projects.
Still life of the simple construction elements of the chair. The supporting structure is made of wood from the earthquake region of Fukushima, Japan. The seat, on the other hand, is made of recycled plastic, mainly recovered from the so-called 'artificial plastic islands' scattered in the ocean.
The circular walkway around the fountain acts as a distribution junction to lead visitors to the exhibitions set up inside the pavilion, while the arches cut out wide views of the surrounding landscape.
The walls are made with stacked chairs (each measuring 60x60x70 cm), which function as modular building blocks, mechanically joined together by simple joints used to connect scaffolding pipes on construction sites.
The sequence shows the construction of one of the walls of the pavilion: from a single chair to a total of 2,500 pieces. The diagram also shows how the construction module makes it possible to create not only ‘full’ walls but also large arched openings.
An overview of the pavilion, embracing the iconic fountain of Hibiya Park, Tokyo’s green oasis. The building has been designed to be completely dismantled, using sustainable, recyclable (wood) and recycled (plastic) materials.
The walls are made with stacked chairs (each measuring 60x60x70 cm), which function as modular building blocks, mechanically joined together by simple joints used to connect scaffolding pipes on construction sites.