This year’s 3daysofdesign festival in Copenhagen featured a stunning 22-foot-tall pavilion, a tribute to the legendary Aalto vase designed by Alvar Aalto for Iittala. Rising along the harbor, this semi-enclosed structure, crafted by the design studio TABLEAU and constructed with sustainable materials from Hydro, celebrates the principles of Scandinavian design.
A Vision Realized
Julius Værnes Iversen, Founder and Creative Director of TABLEAU, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to design a pavilion honoring such an iconic piece. “To be given the opportunity to design a pavilion for Iittala to celebrate the anniversary of such an iconic design as the Aalto vase is a dream come true,” he stated. The pavilion serves as a space for visitors to experience the beauty of design, amplifying the connection between object and architecture.
Innovative Materials and Design
Asle Forsbak, Marketing Director at Hydro Extrusions, highlighted the engineering challenges of bringing the Aalto vase’s design to life on such a grand scale. He noted, “Bringing the Alvar Aalto vase to this measure required both the right material and engineering expertise, and the properties of aluminum extrusions made it the ideal choice for this kind of architecture.” The project successfully demonstrated the potential for large-scale design with a low carbon footprint.
Recycling and Sustainability
After the pavilion’s brief display, its modular components were recycled back into Hydro’s production cycle, emphasizing a commitment to sustainability. Inside the pavilion, visitors found the reissued Aalto City Vase collection, featuring a range of colorways inspired by global waterfront capitals like Berlin, Amsterdam, and New York. The vases were suspended on nearly invisible bases, maintaining the original form while showcasing their iridescent qualities.
Creative Synergy
The collaboration between TABLEAU, Hydro, and Iittala exemplifies a creative synergy that pushes the boundaries of design. For more information about the contributors, visit iittala.com, hydro.com, and tableau-cph.com.
This article was produced by NeonPulse.today using human and AI-assisted editorial processes, based on publicly available information. Content may be edited for clarity and style.








