Copenhagen is once again preparing to become the epicenter of the international design scene. But this version, 3daysofdesign 2026it seems determined to do something deeper than simply displaying objects, collections or aesthetic languages: it aims to question the very role of design in our time. The selected topic, Make this moment Matterit functions as both a manifesto and a call to action. A reflection on the present as the only space where design can truly create impact.
In a historical moment dominated by acceleration, nostalgia and speculative visions of the future, 3daysofdesign chooses to focus on the now. Not the mythologized past of Scandinavian design, however fundamental to Danish cultural identity, nor a future still abstract and hypothetical. Instead, the festival turns to the present as a place of responsibility, community, and concrete action. Here design reclaims its role as a cultural discipline before an industrial one: a tool capable of reshaping behaviours, encouraging belonging, improving well-being and redefining our relationship with materials, spaces and everyday rituals.
Lise Vester © Jonas Swienty _3daysofdesign 2026
Bread and Butter ©Peter William Vinther _3daysofdesign 2026
©Marta _3daysofdesign 2026
©Grythyttan Stålmöbler_3daysofdesign 2026
© FORMEI_3daysofdesign 2026
Iittala_Hydro_3daysofdesign 2026_pavilion_rendering
DEORON _ 3daysofdesign 2026
His words Signe Byrdal Terenziani, CEO of 3daysofdesign, you articulate this direction perfectly. The theme is not just poetic rhetoric, but an invitation to design with intention. Every project should start with a clearWhy.” Because a meaningless object just takes up space, while a work imbued with emotion, responsibility and awareness can create real and lasting impact.
What to see at 3daysofdesign 2026:
Marta and the Ritual Dimension of Everyday Objects
Among the most anticipated projects of the 2026 edition are undoubtedly Martathe Los Angeles-based gallery founded by Benjamin Critton and Heidi Korsavong, now an essential voice in the contemporary dialogue between art and design.
For 3daysofdesign, together with curator Dung Ngo, Marta presents KNIFE, FORK, SPOON 3.0: an ambitious project that redirects attention to one of the most universal yet neglected objects of everyday life, cutlery. Twelve international artists and designers, including Misha Kan, Greg Lynn, TERRAIN, Rafael de Cardenasand Marcin Brokenreinterpret the knife, fork and spoon through stainless steel 3D printing, turning seemingly ordinary utensils into familiar micro-architectures. More than a formal exercise, KNIFE, FORK, SPOON 3.0 it reminds us that the objects we touch every day carry within them collective memory, ritual and cultural identity.
Design and wellness with Lisa Vester at Officinet
Another central theme of the 2026 edition is the relationship between design and well-being. In this context, Lise Vester‘small Design by prescription emerges as one of the most poetic and important works of the festival. Inside the Officinet, a former pharmacy transformed into a showroom, Vester creates a true “design pharmacy”, where light, materials and perception become therapeutic tools.
The installation sits at the intersection of therapeutic architecture and neuroaesthetics, exploring how atmosphere and sensitivity to space can influence emotional and mental well-being. Luminous forms, visual objects and tactile surfaces become moments of contemplation, while visitors can take their little ones home.”design recipes»: reflections on how spaces can support calm, balance and presence. It is an approach that perfectly reflects one of the most profound transformations in contemporary design: the transition from the iconic object to the sensory experience.
Bread and Butter explores bathing rituals
While many exhibitions continue to approach design as individual expression, Bread and butter suggests a radically collective perspective. The itinerant exhibition platform transforms everyday spaces, bookstores, restaurants, living rooms, parking lots, into temporary stages of exploring common rituals through the concept of “perfect couples.” After focusing on eating rituals in its first edition, the 2026 chapter turns to bathing.
Bathing is interpreted not simply as a functional act, but as a social and cultural ritual. From Danish harbor baths to Finnish saunas, Korean jjimjilbangs and Japanese onsens, the exhibition reflects how water, heat and vulnerability create forms of connection between body and community. Sixteen international designers translate these rituals into paired objects that speak of identity, memory and belonging. The result is a multi-layered, almost anthropological work that positions design as a social language before an aesthetic one.
FORMEI and the Invisible Dimension of Materiality
Among the most experimental and conceptually exciting performances of this edition is was formeda work that explores the almost philosophical dimension of materiality. Forming the Unseen explores what usually cannot be touched: presence, time, memory and traces left behind by human gestures.
Through collaborations with The HYBE design team, BROTHERand YOU BUILDFORMEI creates environments and objects in constant transformation, where the void acquires meaning through movement and experience. The research draws deeply from the Japanese philosophy of continuous use—the idea that objects never truly end, but are constantly redefined by time and human interaction. The result is a collection that hovers between sculpture and function, where minimalism is not formal reduction but the pursuit of emotional essentiality.
Gryhyttan Steel Furniture: Reimagined Scandinavian Heritage
3daysofdesign also remains a stage where some of Northern Europe’s most historic brands confirm their cultural importance. Among them, Gryhyttan steel furniture celebrates 130 years with a new presentation at FRAMING. The iconic Swedish outdoor furniture company, known for its handcrafted pieces of wood and spring steel, presents Bowicka new collection that reinterprets Nordic heritage through a modern lens.
Each piece continues to be handcrafted in the forge in Grythyttan, in the heart of Sweden, confirming the value of durability, craftsmanship and slow production.
Iittala turns Aalto’s vase into architecture
Marking 90 years of Aalto pottery, Iittala unveils a seven-meter-high pavilion at Ofelia Plads, transforming Aalto’s iconic silhouette into a walkable architectural structure on Copenhagen’s waterfront. Open to the public during 3daysofdesign, the installation invites visitors to experience the timeless form of Aalto vase on a whole new scale.
Designed by TABLEAU CPH and made of low-carbon aluminum in collaboration with Hydrothe Iittala pavilion combines design heritage, material innovation and contemporary architecture in a bold public landmark that celebrates both craftsmanship and forward-thinking design.
Kaikale x Alexander Mihel and the Future of Coconut Timber
The FRAMING joint exhibition, now in its 6th edition, will showcase exclusive design brands and their latest innovations in the interiors and exteriors of The Odd Fellow Palace, an impressive mid-18th century rococo building. Among the exhibitors, Kaikalean Indian furniture brand rooted in local craftsmanship and people-driven manufacturing collaborates with Scandinavian architect Alexander Mihelintroducing a new range of seating that combines traditional Indian woodwork and Scandinavian design principles.
Developed over 2.5 years through a hands-on collaborative process, the collection is made using carpentry-based methods, working with established hardwoods and also experimenting with non-forest timber such as coconut timber. In India, the coconut tree is traditionally used in its entirety, with every part used. The furniture continues this approach by giving coconut wood a long life as durable, long-lasting pieces.
Deoron flies to CPH
DEORON enters the next stage of its ongoing journey in Copenhagen – another phase in which it continues to challenge the traditional idea of the exhibition as a listening space and meeting place. On the strength of the success observed during Milan Design Week 20263daysofdesign will serve as an excuse to further explore the possibility of bringing people together through design as atmosphere and conversation. In such an environment rich in modern culture and design tradition, DEORON appears not only as a designer but also as an architect.
The site is an industrial glass space of 600 sq.m. with 7m high ceilings in one of Copenhagen’s most iconic and fast-growing areas: Papirøen (Paper Island), in the Holmen district. The exhibition brings together more than 30 designers, brands and independent studios working in furniture, lighting, homewares, technology and lifestyle.
A more human-centered design vision
Each space is designed to be lived in, touched and inhabited. And perhaps this is precisely the most exciting direction emerging from the entire festival: a form of design that is less self-referential and more human, less spectacular and more relational.
Here is where Make this moment Matter ultimately finds its truest meaning – not in the search for the perfect object, but in design’s ability to create genuine connections between people, places and the present moment.
