A soft Nordic palette, generous material thinking and careful pacing defined our visit to 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen.
GRAS joined a Scottish Government-supported delegation alongside The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) and Architecture & Design Scotland to learn how collaboration, long-term thinking and material clarity underpin Denmark’s design culture.
Over three days, a shared itinerary of studio visits, policy briefings and exhibitions revealed how design is embedded in everyday life and public infrastructure. The visit began with a morning session at the British Embassy, Scottish Development International, focusing on the Danish model. Architecture and design are integrated into procurement frameworks, climate policy and social provision, supported by broad design literacy and a culture of civic investment.
At BLOX, home to Creative Denmark, the Danish Architecture Centre and the Danish Design Centre, we encountered the structural backdrop that enables Denmark’s outward-looking design culture. Presentations and open discussion offered a clear sense of Denmark’s foundational ambition, nurtured through cross-institutional collaboration, public-private partnerships, and sustained investment in design as a public good. The emphasis on design ecosystems, rather than isolated practices, reinforces the collective ethos behind Denmark’s global influence.
At Buro Happold, the focus shifted to the future of low-carbon building. From July 2025, Denmark is tightening CO₂e limits for new builds, introducing differentiated thresholds and new requirements around site emissions. The new average limit of 7.1 kg CO₂e/m²/year is significantly lower than the previous baseline of 12 kg CO₂e/m²/year introduced in 2023. These changes represent one of the most ambitious national frameworks for sustainable construction in Europe.
At IKEA Copenhagen, Trine Trydeman and Jacob Kamp, partners at 1:1 Landskab, led a tour of their rooftop garden. Set across a stepped structure, the project brings together planting, repose and public gathering, quietly reframing the commercial roofscape as a space of value and encounter.
Dinesen’s programme for 3 Days of Design brought an intensely material reflection taking visitors across series of projects featuring their timber. House of ORBI, developed in collaboration with students from the Royal Danish Academy, explored scale, light and rhythm through attentive spatial studies. At the Dinesen showroom, The White Light Wood, a collaboration with John Pawson and Danish colour house Blēo, focused on tone, grain and atmosphere.
A short journey away, Julius Nielsen Office’s newly completed Tiny Church brought that same attentiveness to scale and light. Modest in footprint and restrained in form, the structure conveyed a sense of symbolic humility and care in craft. Located on the edge of Nordhavn, the temporary structure responds to contemporary condition of communal gatherings. “The interplay of precise geometry and irregular, tactile materials gives the church a human expression — at once monumental and delicate, expansive and intimate — where the sacred emerges not through opulence and images, but through presence, proportion, and care.”
At Noma, a guided tour by David Thulstrup and BIG revealed a deeper material choreography. Through rhythm and unbound tactility, the project brings an interior, landscape and ritual into a singular experience. It was refreshing to hear David Thulstrup describe the design journey and to see how his exquisitely composed interiors are being lived in, developing an enriching patina.
This was followed by a visit to the Vipp domicile, where expanses of Dinesen flooring grounded the large industrial spaces. The restrained palette set the tone for the brand’s confident domestic ambition, conveyed across the loft space and the former pencil factory.
In Christianshavn, Stacey Hunter’s Local Heroes presented an expressive curation of Timorous Beasties, offering a distinctly Scottish voice within the wider festival.
Our thanks to Creative Denmark and the Scottish Government Nordic Office for their generous support. To Dinesen, for a thoughtful itinerary shaped by atmosphere and care. And to Moxon Architects, Ann Nisbet Studio and Paper Igloo for their insightful company throughout.
Photographs by Paula Szturc