For this year's 3 Days Of Design, Fritz Hansen is turning its attention from objects to the atmosphere, asking what a design exhibition could sound like. Created with Japanese audio brand Technics, Sound Club examines how music, light and furniture combine to shape the character of a space, inviting visitors to slow down and engage with design through listening as much as looking.
Fritz Hansen's Sound Club at 3 Days of Design
The project arrives as Fritz Hansen marks the 90th anniversary of Christian Dell's Kaiser Idell lamp, an enduring Bauhaus design that forms the centrepiece of this new collaboration with Technics. Presented in matching deep burgundy finishes – a shade that forms part of Fritz Hansen's evolving visual identity – a limited-edition Kaiser Idell table lamp and Technics turntable anchor a series of listening environments spread across the Danish brand's Copenhagen flagship, courtyard and a dedicated installation space.
For Fritz Hansen creative director Els Van Hoorebeeck, the starting point was the collaboration itself. 'Obviously we had to go beyond a purely visual presentation when you're collaborating on sound,' she says. 'Music is an emotional, sensory layer on top of a setting. We all have certain songs that bring us back to a space or a memory. We wanted to create that kind of connection, encouraging people to engage with what they're seeing rather than simply taking a picture and moving on.'
Music is an emotional, sensory layer on top of a setting. We wanted to encourage people to engage with what they're seeing rather than simply take a picture and move on
Els Van Hoorebeeck, Fritz Hansen Creative Director
The partnership emerged organically. During research visits to clubs in Seoul and later a Technics café in Kyoto, Van Hoorebeeck and her team encountered the Kaiser Idell lamp paired with Technics turntables on numerous occasions – and an idea began to form.
The initial connection was visual but soon revealed broader similarities between the two brands' approaches to design. 'The arm of the light spoke to the arm of the turntable,' she says. 'It felt like the roles of both brands overlapped.' Both companies share a commitment to craftsmanship too. 'We're both very focused on performance and longevity,' says Van Hoorebeeck.
For Dario Reicherl, CEO Asia at Fritz Hansen, the installation also acknowledges an aspect of design that sometimes remains unspoken. 'Sound has always shaped how we feel in a space,' he says. 'We just haven't always acknowledged it as part of the design conversation.'
Rather than staging a conventional product launch, Fritz Hansen has created a series of spaces centred around different encounters with sound. Visitors can sit in a lounge and hear the company's new podcast series, settle into a listening bar equipped with noise-cancelling headphones and an exclusive vinyl recording created for the collaboration, or spend time in a courtyard animated by a programme of live DJs.
The installation also draws on Fritz Hansen's archive. Original steel furniture designs from the 1930s, including a table and drinks trolley, have been brought back specially for the exhibition. Positioned alongside the Kaiser Idell lamp and Technics turntable, they create a setting that spans nearly a century of design history.
Sound has always shaped how we feel in a space, we just haven't always acknowledged it as part of the design conversation
Dario Reicherl, Fritz Hansen CEO Asia
Elsewhere, sound becomes a way of revealing the hidden processes behind design itself. Within the flagship store, visitors can listen to recordings made during the production of Fritz Hansen furniture, from the sounds of tools and materials to the distinctive audio cues used by craftspeople during assembly. As Van Hoorebeeck explains, some of the company's makers can judge whether a piece is correctly assembled simply by listening to it. The recordings offer visitors an opportunity to hear the sounds associated with the making of Fritz Hansen furniture, an aspect of the process that is usually hidden from view.
The exhibition is also conceived as a response to the pace of 3 Days Of Design itself. Rather than prescribing a single route through the installation, Sound Club encourages visitors to engage on their own terms: to listen to a podcast, spend time with a record, linger over coffee in the courtyard or simply sit and pause for a moment. 'We recognise everyone's navigating a very busy schedule,' says Van Hoorebeeck. 'But we wanted to create an opportunity for people to really feel the design.' Visitors, she says, can shape their own journey through the installation, deciding 'how much they want to invest their time' and creating moments to 'zoom out' amid the intensity of the festival.
From vinyl records to the focused pool of light created by the Kaiser Idell lamp, Sound Club reflects a broader interest in analogue experiences. Ultimately, the installation is less about products than the conditions they create together. Through sound, light and furniture, Van Hoorebeeck hopes to create an experience that lingers beyond the exhibition itself. 'My hope is that people will leave happier than when they arrive, more relaxed,’ she explains. 'Gathering likeminded people in the same space creates great energy and music can enhance that.'
Fritz Hansen Sound Club, Løvestræde 5, Copenhagen, 10–12 June 2026, 10:00–18:00