Walking through a design fair, you notice a collective ritual: people caressing objects. They brush against sofas to understand their texture, run their fingers over tables to sense the warmth of the wood, or trace marble to physically feel the veins that the eye has already mapped out. It is a way for the body to gauge and attempt to validate an object’s promise. We have trained ourselves in a tactile approach: we handle, we lift, we grip.
However, if the last two years are anything to go by, seeing and touching are no longer enough. At installations, we are handed headphones, invited under speakers, or given a QR code to download a playlist. Music, in various forms and modes, now inhabits interior design projects, occupying a position of hierarchical importance equal to that of finishes and furniture. One could easily dismiss this as a mere trend, judging superficially the dizzying list of immersive listening rooms, museum-worthy sound systems, or brutalist consoles. But there is much more to it.
“Music is and will always be a part of everything; furniture itself produces a sound. It’s an interweaving. It is more evident today, but music has always been present,” explains Els van Hoorebeeck with enthusiasm. The Creative Director of Fritz Hansen chose to place the sonic dimension at the heart of the installation presented by the Danish brand at 3daysofdesign, Copenhagen’s annual design event.
Our conversation takes place in a courtyard transformed for the occasion, where a DJ set serves as the centerpiece of the entire experience. Joining us at the table are Dario Reicherl, CEO of Fritz Hansen Asia, and Ryo Ogasawara from the Japanese company Technics.
We wanted people to look beyond what is visible and connect more deeply with the furniture. Music adds another layer to how you experience design.
Els van Hoorebeeck, Creative Director at Fritz Hansen
Fritz Hansen and Technics have teamed up to launch a limited-edition duo of products that explore design that is 'beyond touch,' through light and sound. The former manifests as a reissue of the Bauhaus Kaiser idell™ Luxus 6631-T lamp, originally designed in 1936 by Christian Dell, who once headed the metal workshop at Gropius’s legendary school. The latter is the Technics SL-1500CBT turntable, an updated reissue of the model first produced in 1970.
The partnership between the two companies began two years ago—before music became a constant presence in everyone’s projects—with the aim of having sound reveal another facet of objects: "We wanted people to look beyond what is visible and connect more deeply with the furniture. Music adds another layer to how you experience design," van Hoorebeeck explains.
These two layers—design and sound—intertwine and influence each other. One only needs to consider the Scandinavian sensibility, an approach that has enabled designers to 'listen' and embed sound within their creations. This is primarily what connects Fritz Hansen to Technics: an attention to every detail that translates into genuine care. "The Scandinavian lifestyle leads people to spend a great deal of time within the home; they are very attentive to what they surround themselves with, including audio equipment. For this reason, every system must be designed with the utmost care: this is the fundamental lesson we have learned from this collaboration," observes Ryo Ogasawara.
At 3daysofdesign, the lamp and the turntable are displayed on original Bauhaus-style tables sourced from the Fritz Hansen archives. Headphones rest on the Series 7 chairs, the most emblematic of Arne Jacobsen’s work for the brand. The experience is intimate and individual: you sit down, listen to the vinyl, and watch it spin endlessly. It is just you, the turntable, and the lamp; you, the sound, and the light. Bringing the two products into harmony is their color: a deep burgundy that seems to transcend time, leaving you uncertain whether it belongs to today, yesterday, or a century ago. It is not a trendy color; it does not beg to be photographed, but like the motion of the record, it captivates and becomes a meditative medium.
Technology has an expiration date of about 12 months. If I buy a Leica, however, I can pass it on to my daughter. If I buy Technics, it’s the same: the design is the same as it was seventy years ago. It’s timeless.
Dario Reicherl, CEO of Fritz Hansen Asia
The two products are also united by a production process that reveals the centrality of technique in mass-produced objects which, even today, require skilled artisanal steps. The decision to bring them back into production is not an act of nostalgia. On the contrary, according to Dario Reicherl, the value of these analog objects surpasses that of digital products in certain respects: "Technology has an expiration date of about 12 months. With an iPhone, I can take beautiful photos, but there will be something better in a year’s time, and this one will be obsolete. If I buy a Leica, however, I can pass it on to my daughter. If I buy Technics, it’s the same: the design is the same as it was seventy years ago. It’s timeless. When you buy an analog product, when you buy a machine made with craftsmanship, it lasts forever."
Light and sound, Denmark and Japan, will arrive in homes this coming October: production of the Kaiser idell™ Luxus 6631-T lamp will be limited to 200 pieces, while the Technics SL-1500CBT turntable will be available in a run of 300 units. They will be on display at select Fritz Hansen partners and available for purchase through Technics distribution channels.