LABORATORIUM
Foersom & Hiort-Lorenzen
LABORATORIUM is a series of exhibitions that shed light on the design process from the very first spark of an idea to the finished piece. The third exhibition in the series takes us inside the studio of the design duo Foersom & Hiort-Lorenzen.
Johannes Foersom and Peter Hiort-Lorenzen have been designing furniture and products for more than 50 years. Trained as a cabinetmaker and a ship’s carpenter before becoming furniture architects at the School of Furniture at the Craftsmen’s College, they represent a rare combination of craftsmanship and design thinking. As long-time educators at the Royal Danish Academy’s School of Design, they have shaped several generations of designers. Over the course of more than half a century, they have left a lasting mark on Nordic furniture design, working closely with leading manufacturers.
Craftsmanship at the Centre
The exhibition invites visitors into the Foersom & Hiort-Lorenzen studio, where original 1:1 manifold drawings, scale models, prototypes, and digital 3D renderings fill the shelves and worktables. It offers a close-up look into their creative “engine room” and delves into the development and production processes behind selected furniture pieces.
One of their most iconic designs is the Campus chair from 1992. Today, it can be found at nearly all modern universities and has been produced in over 1.5 million copies. The Campus chair is also featured in the exhibition as a clear example of the studio’s design philosophy, where craftsmanship is paramount, and every detail is carefully considered and tested to create a seamless balance between form, function, and aesthetics.
A focus on sustainability
Over the past 25 years, Foersom & Hiort-Lorenzen have researched new materials to enable sustainable large-scale furniture production. While they initially experimented with moulded shell chairs made from cellulose, their focus today is on hemp, exploring how both the stalk and its by-products can be used so that nothing goes to waste.