The chair also comes in a mirrored version, allowing the creation of a shared space for dialogue and community. The footstool can also serve as a side table for the chairs. Photo: Mathias Rasmussen.
If Gentofte were a chair
The chair was developed by design students August Severin Kjærholm Rizzi, Freya Brinkmann and Emil Kruse from Kolding School of Design, with lecturer and studio manager Mikkel H. Mikkelsen as lead designer. It serves a dual role: as a scenographic element in STOL – a matter of trust and later as a piece for talks, events and exhibitions – as well as a marker of the theatre’s 90th anniversary in 2026.
The process of creating the Gentofte Chair has been a significant learning experience. More than producing a piece of furniture, it has been about exploring design methods in a professional collaboration involving multiple stakeholders.
- For the students, this is a unique opportunity to work on a real case with a complex process involving many different partners. It provides practical experience of how design operates in reality – while also building networks that may prove invaluable in the future, says Mikkel H. Mikkelsen, himself a trained industrial designer.
Stories in form
The Gentofte Chair embodies three themes, which together create a narrative of encountering Gentofte:
Bellevue – the iconic beaches, seaside hotels and Arne Jacobsen’s blue-and-white bathing houses.
The People – an open, inviting chair in honest materials.
The Surroundings – a dialogue between the organic shapes of nature and the strong architectural lines of the area.
- We wanted to create an object that is both iconic and immediately recognisable as belonging to Gentofte. A chair that can stand alone, yet also contribute to a broader story about people, culture and place, explains Mikkel H. Mikkelsen.
Open and welcoming in its design, the chair is based on rotational symmetry, inspired by Bellevue as a historical gathering point. Its expression draws on the atmosphere of the old seaside hotels, reinterpreting the meeting between the classic deckchair and the Danish furniture icons of the 1950s – also known as Danish Modern.
The materials were carefully selected: oak veneer, semi-aniline leather and brass – materials that age gracefully over time and carry their stories forward.
Emil Kruse, Freya Brinkmann and August Severin Kjærholm Rizzi from Kolding School of Design have worked closely with lecturer and studio manager Mikkel H. Mikkelsen. Photo: Mathias Rasmussen.
The design of the Gentofte Chair is inspired by the meeting between nature’s organic curves and the area’s distinctly modernist architecture. Photo: Mathias Rasmussen.
The Heart of Gentofte
A small but central detail is a brass heart, inspired by Gentofte’s characteristic street signs:
- As a subtle detail, we added a small brass heart to the fittings at the back of the chair – a reference to Engelhardt’s distinctive street signs, which adorn many of Gentofte’s residential neighbourhoods. The heart plays an important role in the municipality’s graphic identity and even in its coat of arms. For us, it symbolises human relationships – an element we simply couldn’t leave out of our interpretation of the area, says Mikkel H. Mikkelsen.
As an additional element of the project, mini-chairs have been created in two versions: one for schoolchildren to decorate and exhibit, and one as a small souvenir for audiences to take home.
In this way, the Gentofte Chair will live on across stage, city and private homes – as a lasting reminder of the encounter between art, design and local identity.
The brass heart is a reference to Gentofte’s distinctive street signs. Photo: Mathias Rasmussen
Photo: Mathias Rasmussen
Photo: Mathias Rasmussen
Photo: Mathias Rasmussen
Photo: Mathias Rasmussen
Photo: Mathias Rasmussen
Photo: Mathias Rasmussen
Photo: Mathias Rasmussen
Photo: Mathias Rasmussen
Photo: Mathias Rasmussen
Kolding School of Design
Mikkel H. Mikkelsen, design lead
Andreas V. D. Merwede, project manager
August Severin Kjærholm Rizzi, junior designer
Freya Brinkmann, junior designer
Emil Kruse, junior designer
Bellevue Theatre
Pia Jette Hansen, director
Balé Teatro Guaíra
Alessandro Sousa Pereira, choreographer
Video
Mathias Rasmussen - https://www.mathiasrasmussen.com/video
