Gudrun Havsteen-Mikkelsen. “Trojanske hest. Sensorer og PETG” (“Trojan horse. Sensors and PETG”)2025. Photo: Gudrun Havsteen-Mikkelsen.
Theme: Places and the Agency of Materials
According to the dictionary, a place is defined as ‘an area or space with a specific location and limited size, for example where someone is or where something is taking place’. It could be a landscape, a building or a room. But it is very much the people, the stories and the materials that give places their meaning.
In 2025, a new Danish architecture policy was published with a clear focus on shaping a greener future for the architecture sector. The expert group on national architecture policy presented eight dogmas for the architecture of the future, intended to bring about a paradigm shift and set a new direction for Danish architecture. The first principle calls for the Danish architectural sector to seek out collaborators amongst craftspeople and designers. The principle states:
#1 PRIORITISE CARE AND BEAUTY We must prioritise craftsmanship, universal design and create quality that is durable, functional and, as a result, beautiful.
In this theme, Formkraft explores how craft and design can help shape our environments: from materials and architectural details to landscapes, raw materials and global power structures. What unites them is an interest in how materials, design and craft can forge connections between people and their surroundings.
At Kulturmødet Mors, Formkraft and Danish Crafts & Design Association will be joining forces with the Danish Association of Architects for a live debate entitled ‘The Soul of Architecture: Building Practices of the Future’. Here, we will explore how craftsmanship, materials and new forms of production can help create more sustainable and human-centred environments in an era characterised by standardisation, pressure on resources and a rapid pace of construction. Read more about the debate here (In Danish)
In September, Danish Crafts & Design Association will open a new exhibition space at the Institute for X in Aarhus, where new exhibition formats will be tried out. The vision is that, in addition to hosting ongoing exhibitions, it will also become a meeting place for craftspeople and designers. Formkraft is publishing a series of articles about the venue and the first exhibition, curated by Ingrid Halland, senior lecturer at Aarhus University.
Places are not just something we find ourselves in. They are something we are constantly helping to create – through the materials we choose, the stories we tell, and the ways in which we shape our surroundings.
