World-class sports and Danish creativity during the Paris Olympics 2024. Showcasing innovative Danish solutions at The Denmark Pavilion.
During the 17 Olympic days in Paris, visitors from around the world can witness the best international athletes compete in a wide range of disciplines. At the same time, they can explore innovative Danish solutions at The Denmark Pavilion in Maison du Danemark. Here, solutions in green transition, design, gastronomy, and well-being will exemplify how the transformative power of creativity extends beyond the creative industries, demonstrating how problem-solving everywhere benefits from a life-centred and creative approach.
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Danish design thinking
Across all sectors, Danish companies and organisations have a long tradition of using creativity to solve complex problems and respond to societal challenges. This is evident in the solutions across the four pillars at The Denmark Pavilion: green transition, design, gastronomy, and well-being.
In Denmark, design is for life and everyone. Whether that’s in what you wear on the street, how the buildings around you function or what the chair you sit in feels like, a few key themes run through the Danish approach to design. This has led to impactful solutions that are driving progress towards a circular and more responsible society in pursuit of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
Danish interior design is characterised by minimalism, functionality and elegance, all underpinned by a respect for craftsmanship, a desire for equality, love of nature and ultimately, a goal to support quality of life. Building on the traditional Danish design heritage, modern twists come from innovative design- and production processes, use of new materials, and creative approaches. This is seen in Takt’s focus on craftsmanship as key to responsible consumption and production, designing high-quality yet accessible furniture, as well as Kvadrat’s high-performance yet aesthetic textiles.
Another key characteristic of Danish design culture is its architecture, merging functionality with creativity to redefine spaces. From Konditaget Lüders, using the roof of a car park to make an outdoor gym and playground, to adding a ski slope, hiking trail, and climbing wall to a waste-to-energy plant in the middle of the city at Copenhill, Danish architecture has developed creative ways to integrate playful experiences in otherwise solely practical buildings. The bustling bike lanes, like the Bicycle Snake in Copenhagen, also demonstrate a strong commitment to promoting health by creating cities that are convenient for walking and biking, thereby encouraging physical activity through purposeful and strategic urban design.
Danish creativity as a driver for the green transition
Recycling, upcycling, circular thinking and design for disassembly come together at the Denmark Pavilion, created from 400 chairs made from recycled Carlsberg kegs, old fishing nets, and discarded wood, all of which can be reused afterwards. With a grand opening, the pavilion was formally opened by The King and The Queen of Denmark.
In Denmark, sustainable ideas that support the green transition are encouraged and prioritised both on a societal, organisational, and individual level. Every day, small individual initiatives take place to make life a little more sustainable. For instance, ReCollector has made daily recycling and waste sorting easy and user-friendly, while aesthetically pleasing in a design made of recycled and recyclable plastic. Denmark also has the most effective circular system for reusing bottles globally, with 96% of all plastic bottles being returned and recycled. The Danish company Too Good to Go is also a pioneering food waste company, working around the world to save meals from being discarded. In 2023, the Too Good to Go app saved more than 300 million meals by offering consumers cheap food close to its expiry date.
On a larger scale, innovative sustainable initiatives that support the green transition, often involve cross-sector collaboration and public-private partnerships to create the most impactful results. For example, VELUX together with EFFEKT architects and Artelia have created Living Places Copenhagen. It features seven sustainable housing prototypes with a three times lower CO2 footprint and a first-class indoor environment. The concept is based on five main principles: homes should be healthy, affordable, simple, shared over time, and scalable. Another example is SLA’s climate adaptation and public space project, which not only prevents flooding from cloudbursts but also enhances biodiversity while reducing air pollution and the urban heat island effect. To create the best results, this project included insights from twelve diverse disciplines, from landscape architects to biologists, anthropologists and lighting designers.
Aiming to inspire, the solutions at the Denmark Pavilion showcase that it is essential to innovate and incorporate creativity to make sustainability the obvious and irresistible choice. Not only in the creative industries but across industries and sectors, creating solutions suitable for local needs and adaptable to scale globally.
Please explore more innovative cases below.
The Denmark Pavilion is located by the Maison du Danemark in Paris and in the Danish church, Frederikskirken. During the 17 Olympic days, the Denmark Pavilion and the program of exhibitions, activities and events can be experienced from 26 July to 11 August.
Photos by Thomas Deron.
