Stockholm Furniture Fair exhibition stands designed to cut down on waste
CategoriesSustainable News

Stockholm Furniture Fair exhibition stands designed to cut down on waste

Is it possible to stage a trade fair without producing excessive waste? Dezeen editor-at-large Amy Frearson explores eight approaches that were all on show at this year’s Stockholm Furniture Fair.

The trade show format is increasingly under scrutiny, with environmental concerns prompting many to reconsider the material cost of building large exhibition stands that are only used for a few days.

Stockholm Furniture Fair has pointed a way towards how trade fairs might become more eco-friendly. The majority of exhibitions and stands at this year’s edition of the fair were designed to reduce waste and promote circularity.

“A new layout to promote less construction”

Hanna Nova Beatrice, director of Stockholm Furniture Fair, said that numerous strategies were set out to reduce the carbon footprint of the fair.

“First and foremost, we updated the halls with a new layout to promote less construction,” she said.

Nova Beatrice and her team also drew up “very strict guidelines” that were applied to all of the in-house exhibitions, and worked closely with exhibiting brands to help them find more sustainable solutions.

“We had many discussions about how fairs can be more sustainable, promoting less construction and less waste, both within the organisation and with our exhibitors,” she explained.

Here’s a look at eight approaches that featured:


Hem exhibition stand at Stockholm Furniture FairHem exhibition stand at Stockholm Furniture Fair
Photo is by Erik Lefvander

Create island stands without walls

The new fair layout made it possible for some brands to create “island stands” formed simply of a floor surface that could be easily repurposed or recycled.

Brands adopting this approach included Hem, whose stand was defined by bold chequerboard flooring. The result was a space that became a de facto public plaza.


Nola exhibition stand at Stockholm Furniture FairNola exhibition stand at Stockholm Furniture Fair
Photo is by Sanna Lindberg

Use products to frame space

Swedish outdoor furniture brand Nola put its own spin on the island stand by making clever use of one of its new products, the Moiré pavilion by designer Mattias Rubin de Lima.

By installing two of these pergola structures, Nola was able to create a simple frame for its stand. This was accompanied by a floor formed of recycled bricks, making the space feel like a garden patio.


Pholc installation at Stockholm Furniture FairPholc installation at Stockholm Furniture Fair

Build an installation rather than a stand

The fair organisers encouraged some brands to find ways to exhibit using no construction at all. “Think Lars Von Trier’s Dogville, which used only tape to divide the different areas,” Nova Beatrice explained.

One of the most successful examples came from Pholc. The Swedish lighting brand worked with design agency Nineties to create a multilayered scenography out of stacked packing crates.


Lammhults exhibition stand at Stockholm Furniture FairLammhults exhibition stand at Stockholm Furniture Fair
Photo is by Erik Lefvander

Creatively repurpose an old stand

Many Stockholm exhibitors chose to reuse a stand they had already used before, either for a previous edition of this fair or for one of the many others on the furniture design calendar.

One of the most simple and effective approaches came from Swedish furniture brand Lammhults, which reuses the same stand every year but simply paints it in a different colour. For this year, the cobalt blue of 2023 was replaced with a bold shade of red.

Other noteworthy examples included fellow Swedish brand Mitab, which opted for transparency. Its stand featured a counter that made clear how it had used the same stand for the last five years. “This is the same bar we used last year. And we will use next year,” read text printed on the front.


Minus Furniture exhibition stand at Stockholm Furniture FairMinus Furniture exhibition stand at Stockholm Furniture Fair
Photo is by Felix Odell

Work with waste materials

Minus Furniture made its fair debut with a stand built entirely from recycled materials, in line with the Norwegian brand’s ambitiously eco-friendly business model.

Interiors studio Omhu went to great lengths to source everything. Together with a rented scaffolding system, the design included items sourced from construction sites, second-hand stores and municipal waste.

“Not every company wants to put in the work to think in this manner. It takes time and research to demonstrate and source supplies of a circular nature,” said Poppy Lawman, designer at Omhu.


Reading Room by FormafantasmaReading Room by Formafantasma
Photo is by Andy Liffner

Find a new home for everything

All of the fair’s own exhibitions were designed for circularity, which meant rehoming every component once the fair was over. The Reading Room installation by guest of honour Formafantasma was one of the best examples.

Both the fabric curtain that framed the space and the books displayed inside have been donated to design schools, while the Flos lighting has been gifted to a bookshop. The Artek furniture is meanwhile being sold by retailer Nordiska Galleriet as signed limited editions.


The Yellow Thread bar and stage by Färg & BlancheThe Yellow Thread bar and stage by Färg & Blanche
Photo is by Andy Liffner

Adapt an old design for a new purpose

The bar and stage installation by Stockholm-based Färg and Blanche was first created for Sweden’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which took place in the first six months of 2023.

The design duo adapted the components into a new configuration so that they could be reused here, along with flooring that manufacturer Tarkett plans to repurpose at its factory in Ronneby.


New Ventures area at Stockholm Furniture FairNew Ventures area at Stockholm Furniture Fair
Photo is by Andy Liffner

Keep things simple

Young brands exhibiting for the first time were invited to make use of ready-made booths designed by designer Nick Ross, rather than building their own.

This “nude edition” was built from recycled materials – an aluminium truss system created freestanding wall modules in untreated MDF – that are now being recycled again.

“The entire area can be disassembled and reused for other events,” explained Ross.

Reference

Folkform installs The Museum of Masonite at Stockholm Furniture Fair
CategoriesInterior Design

Folkform installs The Museum of Masonite at Stockholm Furniture Fair

Swedish design duo Folkform has presented a series of furniture pieces made using Masonite hardboard sourced from a factory that closed down over a decade ago.

On show at Stockholm Furniture Fair, The Museum of Masonite centres around a patented type of engineered wood board that is made by steam-cooking and pressure-moulding wood fibres.

Folkform founders Anna Holmquist and Chandra Ahlsell first started experimenting with this material 15 years ago, in collaboration with Sweden’s last remaining Masonite producer in Rundvik.

The Museum of Masonite by Folkform at Stockholm Furniture FairThe Museum of Masonite by Folkform at Stockholm Furniture Fair
The Museum of Masonite features furniture made from a patented type of wood board

When the factory closed in 2011, the pair took all the remaining stock.

“I felt a responsibility to tell the story of what happened to this material,” explained Holmquist, who has since completed a PHD exploring the cultural significance of Masonite.

“It created the Swedish welfare state in the 1930s, 40s and 50s,” she told Dezeen.

“It was made from leftover wood from the Swedish sawmills so it became bigger here than anywhere else. Everyone was using it, for everything from boats and caravans to houses.”

The Museum of Masonite by Folkform at Stockholm Furniture FairThe Museum of Masonite by Folkform at Stockholm Furniture Fair
Works on show include the Masonite Chair, a collaboration with Åke Axelsson

The Museum of Masonite follows the release of the Production Novellas, a book published by Folkform detailing the results of Holmquist’s PHD research.

Folkform is showcasing this book alongside some of their favourite Masonite designs created over the years.

Works on display include the Masonite Chair, a 2021 collaboration with Åke Axelsson based on an experimental design the Swedish interior architect produced in 1978.

Older pieces include a chest of drawers and a bedside cabinet, both created in 2012, which feature different material samples arranged in geometric collages.

“We combined materials with different ages, with this idea that the furniture becomes an archive,” said Holmquist.

The Museum of Masonite by Folkform at Stockholm Furniture FairThe Museum of Masonite by Folkform at Stockholm Furniture Fair
The exhibition follows the release of the book Production Novellas

The most recent designs in the show explore a more minimalist approach, suggesting how the material can create the suggestion of solid blocks.

“I feel like the compositions will be never-ending because we still have more of this board,” added Holmquist.

The works are presented alongside photographs, illustrations and artefacts that tell the story of the factory.

The Museum of Masonite by Folkform at Stockholm Furniture FairThe Museum of Masonite by Folkform at Stockholm Furniture Fair
The exhibition includes photos from the factory. Image by Amy Frearson

Later in the year, the exhibition will move to the Laurel Museum of Art in Mississippi, the city where Masonite was patented in 1924 by William H Mason.

Masonite is distinct from other engineered wood fibre boards, such as MDF, because it is made without glue. Holmquist believes the material could have a future in manufacturing.

The Museum of Masonite by Folkform at Stockholm Furniture FairThe Museum of Masonite by Folkform at Stockholm Furniture Fair
Masonite is made from pressure-moulded wood fibres. Image by Amy Frearson

“It’s a beautiful material and it’s very sustainable,” she concluded.

“We are already seeing a shift in food, where people increasingly care where the things they eat come from, so maybe it will also happen for furniture and objects.”

At Stockholm Furniture Fair this year, visitors could also enjoy the Wekino With exhibition by South Korean furniture designers and British designer Faye Toogood’s collaboration with Finnish company Vaarnii.

The photography is by Erik Lefvander unless otherwise stated.

The Museum of Masonite is on show at Stockholm Furniture Fair, which is open to the public from 7 to 11 February 2024. See Dezeen Events Guide for more Stockholm Dezeen Week exhibitions in our dedicated event guide.

Reference

Get listed in Dezeen’s digital guide for Stockholm Design Week 2024
CategoriesInterior Design

Get listed in Dezeen’s digital guide for Stockholm Design Week 2024

If you’re hosting an event during Stockholm Design Week, you can get listed in Dezeen Events Guide’s digital guide, which highlights the key events taking place during the week.

Stockholm Design Week runs from 5 to 11 February 2024 and includes exhibitions, installations, talks, fairs and open showrooms.

One of the largest events taking place during the week is Stockholm Furniture Fair, which takes place from 6 to 10 February 2024, showcasing furniture, lighting, technology and textiles from over 150 brands.

The event welcomes designers, architects, journalists and purchasers, as well as design enthusiasts.

This year, Dezeen published digital guides to Stockholm Design Week, Milan design week, Salone del Mobile, NYCxDesign, 3 Days of Design, London Design Festival and Miami art week, contributing to Dezeen Events Guide’s success in generating 800,000 page views for the section.

Get listed in Dezeen’s digital Stockholm guide

Dezeen offers standard and enhanced listings in its Stockholm guide.

Standard listings cost £100 and include the event name, date and location details plus a website link. These listings will also feature up to 50 words of text about the event.

Enhanced listings cost £175 and include all of the above plus an image at the top of the listing’s page and an image in the listing preview on the Dezeen Events Guide homepage. These listings will also feature up to 100 words of text about the event.

For more information about partnering with us to help amplify your event, contact the team at [email protected].

About Dezeen Events Guide

Dezeen Events Guide is our guide to the best architecture and design events taking place across the world each year.

The guide is updated weekly and includes virtual events, conferences, trade fairs, major exhibitions and design weeks.

For more details on inclusion in the Dezeen Events Guide, including in our guide to Stockholm Design Week, email [email protected].

The illustration is by Rima Sabina Aouf.

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