Fredericia

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Barbry Stool by Aurelien Barbry

 

The Danish furniture company Fredericia have moved from Frederiksborggade in Copenhagen to an extensive and impressive new space in Løvstræde where they are on the upper floors of the recently restored old post office building. There are large, well-lit spaces for displaying the furniture and, from the upper level, amazing views over the roof scape of the old city.

For 3daysofdesign Fredericia showed new additions to their collection that were set out in a striking series of canvas domes and they also showed new textiles from Kvadrat, designed by Raf Simmons, that they are using for upholstery on some of their furniture.

  • Haiku Low Sofa by Gamfratesi

  • Sine Lounge Chair by Space

  • Verve Sledge by Geckler Michels

 

There is a small area with a display of historic drawings and old photographs that trace back Fredericia's collaboration with some of the major designers of the 20th century since the company was founded in 1911. Fredericia still manufacture the famous leather sofa - Model 2213 - that was designed by Børge Mogensen in 1962 as well as his Spanish Chair designed in 1958 and the Søborg series of chairs by Mogensen from 1950.

Furniture designed by other major designers from the classic period of Danish design in the 1950s and 1960s include chairs by Hans Wegner and works by Nanna Ditzel - including the Trinidad Series - but Fredericia have also commissioned work from some of the best designers of the late 20th century and from young designers working now including the Kile sofa by Jasper Morrison, the Stingray Series from Thomas Pedersen, the Haiku Series by GamFratesi and the Pato Collection by Hee Welling and Gudmundur Ludvik.

Their collection of furniture is renowned for its quality but Fredericia is also noted for their outstanding use of colour and for the tailored look of their upholstery that uses strong colour combinations and fabrics with contrasting textures to emphasise the shape and form of chairs and sofas.

Fredericia

Model 2213 designed by Børge Mogensen in 1962

Kile Sofa by Jasper Morrison

Haiku in the high model from 2012 and low back version from 2015 by GamFratesi

Spine daybed by Space of Copenhagen 2016

Stingray Series designed by Thomas Pedersen

Really at Kvadrat

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Sometimes you come across a design or a product that had not been on the radar - but it stops you in your tracks. It's like driving along a road and suddenly there is an amazing view and you can’t help yourself and just go wow.

Well it was a bit like that on seeing Really at Kvadrat at Klubiensvej in Nordhavn on Thursday.

In part, this was because I had seen nothing on the internet about Really so, for once, this was the impact of something that appeared to be very new and came out of the blue ........ or maybe it just shows that I’m not going through the design magazines with enough care or attention because Really was shown in Milan.

Probably the best way to start is to quote the introduction in a catalogue from Really:

“Responding to the urgent global issue of waste, Really upcycles textiles to create materials that challenge the design and architectural industries to rethink their use of resources and to design their products with a circular economy in mind.”

 

The result is new Acoustic Textile Felt and Solid Textile Board - a new building board. These are made from end-of-life textiles - for instance, worn-out bedding from large laundry companies - and the process does not use toxic chemicals or water or dyes. At the end of their own useful life the felt and boards can be “re-granulated” to feed the start of a new product so hence that concept of circular design.

Solid Boards come in different gauges and can be cut and put together for furniture with many of the same techniques as plywood. Thicker boards even have the same impression of layers as plywood with white cotton used for the core layer and coloured outer layers in Cotton White, Cotton Blue, Wool Slate and Wool Natural and that can be more obvious when several thinner layers are combined to form a heavier or thicker gauge of  board ... for instance for table tops. 

Boards can be cut, drilled or milled, sanded and planed, laser cut and glued. Surface treatments are also similar to the finishes for plywood with lacquer, oil or wax.

In the display at Kvadrat, a number of bold benches and tables designed by Max Lamb were shown along with a mood board collection of samples and ideas that, in a good way, reminded me of lino cutting … not the prints but the tangible qualities of the linoleum itself with all the various options you have for depth and sharpness of cut that reveal the layers down from the smooth matt surface and also because the boards themselves have some of that warmth and softness of colour that is a distinct characteristic of simple linoleum.

reallycph.com