Life, By Design

Denmark, long known for its design aesthetics, is using its expertise to integrate sustainability into everyday life

- Rathina Sankari

I looked at the pièce de résistance: Juicy, blood-red pieces of beet glazed in plum vinegar, laid on a bed of gammel knas cheese spread on a piece of rye bread, peppered with buckwheat and sorrel. It looked like a piece of art. I was having lunch at Selma in Copenhagen, the restaurant bestowed with the Bib Gourmand award this year by Michelin. My meal for the day was the smørrebrød, an open-faced sandwich that the Danes have for lunch. But this wasn’t the traditional sandwich with toppings like herring or pork belly; this was a vegetarian take and, unlike the regular ones, the slice of dense rye bread was toasted. Using sustainable products like fresh vegetables from local suppliers, chef Magnus Pettersson has been creating new avatars of the regular smørrebrød in his kitchen at Selma. It was a simple meal with an emphasis on good quality.

Pettersson’s efforts in the kitchen and in sustainable practices are a contemporary addition to the Danish design scene—it cuts across textiles, food, furniture, industrial design, fashion, architecture and more—which has been part and parcel of Danish lives since the age of industrialization. Iconic designers and architects, such as Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen, and Kaare Klint are just a few of the many visionaries with creative and innovative minds who were instrumental in shaping the Danish design industry. But today, the Danes are using their design expertise to seamlessly integrate sustainability into every aspect of their lives.