In Copenhagen, where the Scandinavian team’s headquarters are located, a number of residential complexes have already been built using “upcycling” materials like wood, concrete, and bricks from landfills.
But on the occasion of the Fuorisalone in Milan, Lendager Group is exporting its “circular” design vision outside of Denmark, presenting an astonishing installation assembled like a Meccano by using 500 chairs made of recycled wood and plastic that make up the walls of the structure.
The (circular) meaning of Danish design at the Fuorisalone
Anders Lendager, the founder of the Danish architecture firm Lendager Group, has a clear idea of the future of architecture: creating the buildings of tomorrow by recycling today’s industrial waste.
Photo Mikkel Hvilshøi
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- Laura Ragazzola
- 06 September 2021
- Museo della Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, Via San Vittore 21, Milano
The pavilion is part of the exhibition promoted by Denmark within the “TrashFormation Village” project, a sort of sustainable village that includes a school, a hospital, a theatre, and domestic and work spaces, located in the cloisters of Milan’s Museum of Science and Technology and involving internationally renowned architects. The project was created as an initiative of Milanese gallery owner Rossana Orlandi to launch ‘ROGuiltless Plastic’, a comprehensive programme aimed at raising awareness of the issue of plastic and its reuse. “In the ‘village’, our pavilion serves as an educational space aimed at developing a new environmental responsibility,” explains Lendager. “We do this from the very concept of the structure: the Danish exhibition will leave no waste behind,” the architect continues, “because the bricks-slash-chairs used as building modules will either go back to being simple chairs or they will be used to build a new structure somewhere else in the world”.
Around the Danish pavilion unfolds a second exhibition path dedicated to Danish brands that have made sustainability their strongest asset, also from an economic point of view. In this case, the “recycled” chairs make up a sort of modular exhibition bookcase where furniture, fabrics and objects show the public all the green strength of Danish design: from the hi-tech innovations of the electronics company Bang&Olufsen to PP Møbler’s iconic chairs; from the unique chromatic research of File Under Pop’s tiles to the extraordinary Linie Design’s carpets that look like paintings; from Mater’s collection made of 100% recycled furniture to Wehlers’s chairs made from discarded fish nets; from the Scandinavian minimalism of Menu Space to the sculpture-furniture of the artist Birgitte Due Mansen who reuses precious marble and stone scraps; and also, from Small Revolution’s infinitely recyclable furnishing accessories to Thors Design’s unique pieces sculpted from wood salvaged from abandoned docks; from Kompan’s urban furnishings, with their inclusive design to, finally, designer Hans Sandgren Jakobsen’s refined furniture, which, together with Raawii’s ceramics, reflects exceptional craftsmanship. The Danish exhibition - that can be visited from 4 to 12 September - is coordinated by the Royal Danish Embassy in Rome, in collaboration with Realdania, Visit Denmark, the Danish Architecture Center (DAC), Creative Denmark, and the Confederation of Danish Industry.
- RoGUILTLESSPLASTIC
- Rossana Orlandi with the partnership of the Danish Embassy
- Museo della Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, via San Vittore 21, Milan
- 4th - 12th September, 10am – 8pm
The School, Lendager Group. The installation set up in one of the cloisters’ colonnades with the Danish brands use the chairs as a display structure.
Anders Lendager, founder of the Copenhagen-based Danish firm Lendager Group, sitting on a chair made of recycled wood and plastic.
The School, Lendager Group. The structure of the pavilion is made with more than 800 chairs which, by being stacked vertically, create the facades of the surprising structure. Inside, the chairs form a shelving system, while from the outside, by exploiting the backs of the seats, they draw a continuous “impermeable” surface. The design of the chair and the concept project have been nominated for the Danish Design Award 2021.
The School, Lendager Group. A detail of the interior with a project model
The School, Lendager Group. The interior of the pavilion is a sort of ‘arena’ where visitors can attend lectures on sustainability given by experts in the field and by the designers themselves.
The chair is multipurpose: here, in its “deck chair'” version, when it’s turned upside down it becomes a traditional chair. The design is by Kristoffer Codam, architect of the Lendager Group team
The School, Lendager Group. The chair in its classic dining chair version. Design by Kristoffer Codam
The School, Lendager Group. The chairs are stacked vertically, forming a structural wall
The School, Lendager Group. L'installazione allestita in uno dei colonnati dei chiostri usa le sedie come struttura espositiva.
The School, Lendager Group. The entrance to the pavilion.
The School, Lendager Group. The chairs are stacked using a simple joint, normally used to connect pipes in the scaffolding of construction sites.
‘Deck chair’ version
The School, Lendager Group. ‘Dining chair’ version
Beogram 4000c turntable: the comeback of an icon by Bang & Olufsen, which reissues the famous piece in a limited edition
Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay earphones
Mater’s ‘The Ocean’ reissues a historic collection designed in 1955 by the famous Danish design duo Joergen and Nanna Ditzel, now re-proposed to the public using ocean plastic waste and in a version that can be completely disassembled, so that every single component can be recycled.
The outdoor collection by Mater - a Danish company with a strong sustainable DNA founded in 2006 - furnishes the relaxation areas of the headquarters of Carlsberg, the well-known Danish beer brand. In this case, the pieces of furniture are made from recycled plastic containers used to transport beer, creating a successful joint venture between companies operating in different sectors and the virtuous circularity of using waste materials to create new products.
The seat and backrest of Mater’s ‘Earth Stool’ is made from recycled industrial waste from well-known Danish companies, from the insulin pens of a pharmaceutical company to waste from beer and coffee production
A detail of Mater’s ‘Mask Stool’, which recycles beer sediment (in the foreground)
A coffee table by artist and designer Birgitte Due Madsen, who ‘sculpts’ her furniture by recycling precious stones and materials (e.g. alabaster) from manufacturing waste
The sober chromatic range of Birgitte Due Madsen’s pieces
‘2.0 Kg Elegance’, the chair created by Danish designer Hans Sandgren Jakobsen, who has always been fascinated by Gio Ponti’s iconic ‘Superleggera’ (1.7 kg) as an “undisputed example of lightness and minimal design”, as the Danish designer himself pointed out.
‘Cuba Cuts’, the extraordinary project by designer Hans Sandgren Jakobsen, who has carved 24 bowls out of a very old Cuban mahogany tree trunk: each one is a unique collector’s piece, created without creating any material waste.
‘Clear Cosmos’ by Linie Design. The carpets selected for the exhibition in Milan were designed by Urd Moll Gundermann, head of design for the Danish brand.
Collection of vases by the brand Raawii, founded in 2017 by Bo Raahauge Rasmussen and Nicholai Wiig-Hansen. “Creating beautiful products, manufacturing in a way that respects people and the environment, and providing optimal conditions for our designers - these are the goals of Raawii,” said the two co-founders.
Cups from Raawi’s ‘Natural Light’ collection. The Danish brand’s design is inspired by archetypal forms, making it extremely expressive.
SMALLrevolution’s ‘Annie Seat’ is made from 100% recycled and recyclable plastic waste. The Danish brand’s products are 100% reusable and can be turned into new objects. The aim is to give new life to plastic waste that would otherwise be burnt, becoming a source of pollution for the environment.
Plastic waste that SMALLrevolution uses for its infinitely recyclable collections. The Danish company was founded in 2019 by designers Arendse Baggesen and Mie Mogensen
Thors Design’s ‘Gaia’ table
Kompan’s children’s playhouse
The School, Lendager Group. L'installazione allestita in uno dei colonnati dei chiostri usa le sedie come struttura espositiva.
The School, Lendager Group. L'installazione allestita in uno dei colonnati dei chiostri usa le sedie come struttura espositiva.
The School, Lendager Group. L'installazione allestita in uno dei colonnati dei chiostri usa le sedie come struttura espositiva.
The School, Lendager Group. L'installazione allestita in uno dei colonnati dei chiostri usa le sedie come struttura espositiva.
The School, Lendager Group. L'installazione allestita in uno dei colonnati dei chiostri usa le sedie come struttura espositiva.
The School, Lendager Group. L'installazione allestita in uno dei colonnati dei chiostri usa le sedie come struttura espositiva.
The School, Lendager Group. L'installazione allestita in uno dei colonnati dei chiostri usa le sedie come struttura espositiva.
The School, Lendager Group. L'installazione allestita in uno dei colonnati dei chiostri usa le sedie come struttura espositiva.