DESIGN / DIALOGUE 2026 at DEN FRIE
Ark Journal presents the third edition of DESIGN / DIALOGUE, the annual exhibition of curated design and art, this year taking place at Den Frie Udstilling in Copenhagen.
CASE STUDY – COMPOSITION IN WOOD
Compositions in wood – from funkis to modernity. Styled by Pernille Vest and Henriette Schou. Photographed by Anders Schønnemann.
SPATIAL GESTURES
The wearable objects Yuta Ishihara makes under the moniker Shihara play tricks on us. “The hardware is in focus, incorporated into the design itself,” says Ishihara.
CASE STUDY – RICH AUSTERITY
In a quiescent and calm interior, deceptively simple lines and nuanced tones of wood invite a contemplation of form and balance.
RELEVANT OBJECT
A philosophy about space and light anchored by a collection of Poul Kjærholm furniture defines an early modernist house in Kyoto.
TISVILDE TIME LAPSE
Restoring his 1930’s Beach House, architect and photographer Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen obsessed on period details, grey scales, and capturing its essence in photography.
ZUCCHETTI AND FRIENDS
A custom-built showroom in Milan exhibits new design-driven Zucchetti collections like works of art.
MATTER AND SHAPE 2025
In the beautiful surroundings of the Jardin des Tuileries, a new chapter in design culture was written. MATTER and SHAPE 2025, a design salon unlike any other, positioned itself at the very intersection of art, materiality, and modern craftsmanship.
JOURNEY’S END
A 90s portable church has found its home on a secluded hill in the forest, becoming a contemporary respite for creation and reflection for Josephine Akvama Hoffmeyer.
CASE STUDY
— DISSONANT BEAUTY
As in music, interior design calls on many elements – rhythm, contrast, repetition – to create that most subjective of visions: beauty.
DESIGN MUMBAI
India’s creativity, natural resources, extensive skills, technological advancements and deep historical roots deserve wider recognition and appreciation.
CINCINATTI MODERN
High on a hillside in Cincinnati, sits a two-storey modernist wonder by two unsung heroes of American architecture, built for an art collector in the 1980s and that has been given a sensitive makeover to accommodate the collection of its second owner.
CREATIVE TRANSITIONS
Based on the loops and twists of the Möbius strip, an icon of mid-century Mexican design has become an integral part of the creative process for its custodian, designer and ceramicist Perla Valtierra.
THE MECHANICS OF SCENT
Previously presented in Paris, Los Angeles, and New York, FRAMA’s exhibition The Mechanics of Scent arrived in Copenhagen, inviting visitors to reconsider one of the most overlooked dimensions of design.
CASE STUDY – STATEMENT OF INTENT
In the industrial setting of BIG HQ’s top floor in Copenhagen, objects of raw and uncompromising materiality resonate with the tectonics and aesthetics of their surroundings.
DESIGN / DIALOGUE BY ARK JOURNAL
During 3daysofdesign 2025 the raw industrial architecture of Pakhus 11 in Copenhagen’s beautiful Nordhavn district became a setting for inspiration and exchange, where exhibitions, talks, and activations unfolded across its light-filled spaces.
MODERN MANNERS
What does it take to restore a heritage protected 1950s house? Humility, patience and sheer determination brought new life to the early Philip Johnson house.
CASE STUDY – RICH AUSTERITY
In a quiescent and calm interior, deceptively simple lines and nuanced tones of wood invite a contemplation of form and balance.
RELEVANT OBJECT
A philosophy about space and light anchored by a collection of Poul Kjærholm furniture defines an early modernist house in Kyoto.
TISVILDE TIME LAPSE
Restoring his 1930’s Beach House, architect and photographer Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen obsessed on period details, grey scales, and capturing its essence in photography.
ZUCCHETTI AND FRIENDS
A custom-built showroom in Milan exhibits new design-driven Zucchetti collections like works of art.
MATTER AND SHAPE 2025
In the beautiful surroundings of the Jardin des Tuileries, a new chapter in design culture was written. MATTER and SHAPE 2025, a design salon unlike any other, positioned itself at the very intersection of art, materiality, and modern craftsmanship.
JOURNEY’S END
A 90s portable church has found its home on a secluded hill in the forest, becoming a contemporary respite for creation and reflection for Josephine Akvama Hoffmeyer.