Imagine a design exhibit design that’s completely recyclable. Transpose that vision to a set of artfully-arranged cardboard structures framing a large warehouse space, in a sunwashed wharf in glimmering Copenhagen. And that’d be ShowHow, one of the most genuinely sustainable of the many exhibits on display for Copenhagen Design Week.
Once of the highlights from the show was ‘s Idea of a Tree, a solar-powered manufacturing device that uses the sun’s energy to create, shape and color chairs and stools made out of layers of fiber. The idea is to manufacture within natural cycles, not outside of them; the device is powered by the sun and the thickness of the fiber layers and intensity of the colours it creates is determined by the level of sunshine. (On cloudy days, the device will produce thinner, darker products.)
Another highlight was a model display of the Green Lighthouse, which will be Copenhagen’s first carbon neutral space. A round building on a concrete slab, the structure is inspired by the shape and function of a sundial and features a slanted roof clad in both photovoltaic cells and solar-thermal panels. These function “like a giant roof battery,” in the words of designer Michael Christensen of Copenhagen firm . The solar-thermal panels produce surplus heat during summer, which is stored in heat pumps in the ground for use during the winter. A computer system monitors energy consumption and turns off rooms when they are not being used, and the building is cooled by means of natural ventilation and concrete floors that absorb heat. The building opens October 20th; in total, it should consume 22 kWH/m2/year in energy to heat 950 m2 of space.
The Nobody chair by , is made from felt derived from recycled plastic bottles. According to designer Boris Berlin, the chair is manufactured entirely from two pieces of felt molded and fused together with no extra parts.
We were also impressed by IKEA’s solar-powered SUNNAN desk lamp, which offers energy-efficient LED lighting at an affordable price point.
We:Do:Wood showcased a new line of “wood”-like chairs made entirely out of renewable bamboo.
Another favorite from the show was SMIT’s photovoltaic ivy, which harvests both sunshine and wind energy.
This recyclable task chair from Steelcase solves the problem of how to make office chairs more sustainable; it’s designed so that it can easily dismantled into a bunch of different parts.
Goodmorning Technology showed off an energy-efficient LED lamp with a funky book-like aesthetic.
And Danish bike company Biomega brought this bamboo-framed bike to the show.
The weekend also saw ShowHow host a graphic design smackdown between several local firms. The event challenged firms to create a sustainable graphic statement using a wall of cardboard boxes. For more details on that, check out .
+ Copenhagen ShowHow
+ Copenhagen Design Week
