25 designers decorate Copenhagen Contemporary’s café Connie-Connie with waste wood

The art museum Copenhagen Contemporary has recently assigned TABLEAU and the Australian designer Ari Prasetya the task of the overall design and concept of their new café Connie-Connie to explore how furniture can also be categorized as art. Around 25 different artists, architects, and designers were chosen for the project of producing personal stools, chairs, and benches for the 150 square-metre surrounding space of the eatery.

For the project, all the different pieces of furniture were created using off-cut wood provided by the Danish wood flooring company, Dinesen. The company’s mission behind this was to give the wood the longest life possible and to see the off-cut pieces used in new and creative ways.

As part of Copenhagen Contemporary, Connie-Connie is located in a former welding facility in Copenhagen’s foodie neighbourhood Refshaleøen, and has due to its unique seating arrangements won the Wallpaper Annual Design Awards Prize for” Best café seating”. With the aim of making Connie-Connie more than just a regular café, all new pieces made especially for the café can now be purchased through TABLEAU either as singulars or as a reproduction.

The artists who participated in the project included both upcoming and established profiles as they were selected from all around the world with the belief that international diversity within the field of design and art, produces the most interesting results for the design space of Connie-Connie.

The selected artisans who took part in the project alongside TABLEAU are the following:

• Anna Clarisse Holck Wæhrens.
• Among Other Things.
• Anne Brandhøj.
• Arnaud Eubelen.
• Ari Prasetya.
• Bram Vanderbeke.
• Carsten In Der Elst.
• Davide Ronco.
• Frederik Gustav.
• Jacob Egeberg.
• Janis Karasevskis.
• Kevin Josias.
• Kim Lenschow.
• Kristine Mandsberg.
• Laurids Gallée.
• Mads Hilbert.
• Pablo Dorigo Sempere.
• Paul Cournet.
• Pettersen & Hein
• Pil Whitta.
• Natalie P. Koerner
• Thomas Gayet.

For more press photos of the different designs at Connie-Connie click here.
Read more about Copenhagen Contemporary here.

In recent years, the former industrial district of Refshaleøen has become one of Copenhagen’s hippest areas and a hub for creativity, festivals, great foods of all kinds and alternative urban development. It houses many interesting projects within the field of design, architecture, and sustainability in which advanced and creative solutions are taken into use. Here are a few examples:

• Øens Have is a vibrant and green area of urban farming, producing local produce in the centre of the city. The place aims to inspire and encourage more green and sustainable living, increasing the synergy between nature, agriculture, and the capital city.
• Urban Rigger is a great example of how to free out space and bring life to former industrial areas by building strong, mobile communities on water. The floating study buildings are designed by the famous Danish architect Bjarke Ingles built entirely using upcycled shipping containers, creating a great sustainable housing project.
• All food stalls at Reffen Copenhagen Street Food are built around recycled materials as all stalls are made of old shipping containers. Reducing waste of food and energy consumption is also a massive part of Reffens core values.
• La Banchina is a natural wine bar and restaurant with a sauna and a bathing zone in their backyard. Everything they serve is seasonal, organic, biodynamic, and locally sourced. The building is an upcycled wooden shed that once served as a ferry terminal and waiting room for local shipyard workers who had to sail to work from the other side of the harbour.
• Alchemist is a 2-star Michelin restaurant based on the concept of holistic cuisine, that draws from the world of gastronomy, theatre, art, science, technology and design. Through their “Five pillars of change” approach, they donate meals to local food shelters, plant trees per cocktail served and donate money to local charities. In both their bar and kitchen, they offer plant-based solutions.
• Tucked away in a quiet part of the harbours of Refshaleøen, Kaj Hotel is a floating pod also made entirely of reclaimed materials.

For more on the district of Refshaleøen read here.