Student project

Under the Surface

Designer
Niels Bruun Djurhuus
Education
Master
Subject area
Industrial Design
Focus area
Design for Planet
Year
2026
Collaboration partners
Hydro
Aluminium Danmark
Målbar
Neuropsykolog Anne Svendsen
Produktionsfirmaerne Nymark og Fogh Teknik, BendTech og Hyndeskrædderen
Background
Sensory qualities as a design tool for creating lasting relationships with aluminium.

Under the Surface

How can design help us create stronger relationships with the materials that surround us? 

This graduation project explores how aluminium can challenge its industrial connotations through sensory and emotional qualities. The result is an aluminium chair developed for therapeutic consultation spaces in the psychiatric department at Aarhus University Hospital, with a focus on the material’s tactility, user experience, and potential to foster lasting relationships between people and material.