&Tradition in Spring
&Tradition in Spring
twentytwentyone were delighted to be invited to Copenhagen to celebrate the launch of two new important outdoor collections from &Tradition.
The collections by long-standing &Tradition collaborators Anderssen + Voll and Space Copenhagen joined a host of new launches and classic reissues, including designs by Viggo Boesen, Jaime Hayon, Sebastian Herkner, Hvidt & Mølgaard, Luca Nichetto and Verner Panton.
On a beautifully crisp Copenhagen afternoon this month, we caught the harbour bus to Operaparken (the Opera Park), a public park designed by Danish studio Cobe, comprising six gardens from around the globe set around a striking flower-shaped greenhouse – an arresting backdrop to the first of the day’s launches – Ville.
Ville by Anderssen + Voll
“We have a saying in our studio – a small thing can be strange however bigger things need to be more austere. You might love the odd-looking candle stick, but the funny sofa might prove difficult to live with.”
- Torbjørn Anderssen
Created by Norwegian design studio Anderssen & Voll, the Ville collection is composed of a side chair, an armchair, and a minimal table and bench, which elegantly balances solidity with softness. In conversation with &Tradition’s Head of Design, Adam Wihlborg, Torbjørn Anderssen and Espen Voll articulated their inspiration and creative processes, initially working to create an outdoor chair that pivoted around the principle of vertical stacking. It began with a graphic sketch, with a unified back and seat, “like a flying carpet bouncing off the more rigid steel frame.” The chair developed through rudimentary full-scale modelling, the form refined over time, and a repeating detail emerged – the transition between the legs and the horizontal rails, the functional, unifying element repeating across the range.
The table and bench were designed as a calm counterpoint to the more detailed aesthetic of the webbed chair, offering a more pared back, architectural tone in untreated teak wood and powder-coated steel, the collection palette chosen to complement soil, grass and foliage.
Leaving the architectural gardens, we grabbed a warming coffee to-go as we stepped out into the late afternoon sun and were ushered onto a boat for a surprise historic canal tour to the next venue - the Thorvaldsens Museum.
Situated next to Copenhagen’s Christiansborg Palace, Denmark’s first public museum couldn’t be a more apt location to launch Space Copenhagen’s latest outdoor range, Thorvald.
The 8-piece collection is an ode to the neoclassical artist Bertel Thorvald (1770-1844), inspired by the eponymously named museum.
Thorvald – an ode to neo-classist Bertel Thorvald
“An invitation to enjoy a pause, conversation, drink, or a meal under the open sky”.
- Space Copenhagen
Thorvald finds an equilibrium between functionality and the poetic, with a modern, sculptural silhouette and subtle classic motifs. Composed of a solid steel frame and grid structure, the outdoor collection references architectural motifs of the museum while creating a sense of lightness and transparency, forging a striking interplay of light and shadow.
The collection takes centre stage, each piece raised on low pedestals, resembling Thorvald’s imposing sculptures, while Signe Bindslev Henriksen and Peter Bundgaard Rützou of Space Copenhagen eloquently discussed the 5-year design process, honing a durable, stackable range that had a visual connection to the space. Created during the pandemic, the designers felt an overwhelming need to reconnect with nature, seeking to blend indoor and outdoor life, resulting in the refined Thorvald collection.
Finally to end the day, a tour of &Tradition’s impeccably curated flagship showroom to discover their other spring launches, including the exquisite reissue of Hvidt & Mølgaard’s mid-century icon, the AX chair.
We explored a treasure trove of technical drawings, photographs and original pieces that dominate one of the archive rooms.
From an original Verner Panton Flowerpot pendant in vibrant cobalt to wooden tennis rackets that inspired the development of the X Chair by Hvidt & Mølgaard in 1959.
A big thanks to Torbjørn Anderssen, Espen Voll, Signe Bindslev Henriksen and Peter Bundgaard Rützou for their engaging conversations and facinating insight into their new designs.
Also to everyone at &Tradition for their flawless hospitality and providing such an inspirational trip.
We are excited to launch these two new collections and both are now on display in London at our River Street showroom, ready for the spring and summer season ahead.
