Copenhagen's Danish Design Centre

The Danish Design Centre in Copenhagen will be a bit of a shock to those who believe that IKEA epitomises Scandinavian style and design. On three floors in an unexciting office block near the Tivoli Gardens, the Danish Design Centre is full of beautifully produced and useful products. Designers here seem to have adopted the maxim of those in the Arts and Crafts movement of a century ago; each product has to be both beautiful and serve a useful purpose.

Take for example the pile of short separate black plastic tubes of differing circumference. These simple tubes are storage shelves cleverly designed so the user can determine both the number of storage spaces, and the shape of the final ensemble. A plastic belt simply joins the separate pieces together.

Another great idea is the separate coat hooks, beautifully sculptured lumps of wood of different shapes and sizes. Fix them on a wall; used they are functional and specifically meet your needs, unadorned they are beautiful and natural wall decorations.

For users in the third world, Danish designers have come up with a simple drinking straw containing a water filter. This enables the user to easily access safe drinking water using a very practical and usable device.

It’s not all consumerism at the Danish Design Centre; the Flowmarket display in the basement is set up as a shop, selling boxes, cartons and packets with printed slogans on them. Those hoping that the boxes marked “inner calmness” and “stress killers” are full will be sorely disappointed. The display is simply a message on how producers sell us their products on empty promises. Another slogan that gives pause for thought is one from author Anna Lappe: “Every time you spend money, you are casting a vote on the kind of world you want”. Appropriately, the shop on the ground floor allows visitors to purchase some of the products displayed elsewhere.

It is fitting that Copenhagen will host next year’s international climate change conference, and another exhibition displayed the different ideas that design agencies produced to promote and brand the conference.

The Danish Design Centre regularly changes their exhibits, so they can display new ideas and concepts. The centre certainly promotes an interesting and refreshing design approach. Anyone interested in thinking more about design and their purchases will enjoy an hour or two at the centre.

Entrance to the Danish Design Centre costs 50 Krone (£5/$10) with free entry each Wednesday evening.

The Copenhagen Design Museum

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