At this year’s 3DaysofDesign, one space towered above the rest – figuratively speaking. Audo's ‘Monuments’ exhibition, staged at Audo House and inspired by the Neoclassicalism of Copenhagen, turned the design destination into a considered sanctuary
In a design week crowded with fleeting installations and fast-paced showroom launches, Audo House offered the sense of something else entirely: permanence. With 'Monuments', a concept developed in collaboration with Norm Architects and art director Christian Møller Andersen, Audo invited visitors to slow down and reflect. Drawing from Copenhagen’s Neo-classical heritage – particularly the restrained grandeur of architect C.F. Hansen – 'Monuments' was less about looking back, and more about showing how timeless design principles remain urgently relevant today.
Spread across Audo House’s vast café, restaurant, concept shop, material library and exhibition rooms, 'Monuments' reimagined each space as a chapter in a wider story. Here, classical proportion met modern minimalism, form met texture, and silence met expression. Whether relaxing in the French café-inspired restaurant, wandering through the gallery-like Classics Room or pausing in the sculptural Stillness Room, visitors encountered design elevated to artefact, positioned with the reverence of classical sculpture, yet very much alive.
Audo's Brasilia lounge chair.
Design week folk flocked to Audo House.
“Rather than returning to the past, 'Monuments' recognises its continued relevance, celebrating a lineage of thought where function, beauty and restraint are held in delicate balance," says Norm Architects’ Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen. “Each object is positioned with the care of a classical artefact – curated to honour clarity, proportion and material honesty,” he says.
In contrast to the product-focused buzz found elsewhere at 3DaysofDesign, Audo House set a slower, more thoughtful pace. In this oasis, design became a language for contemplation rather than commerce. The Stillness Room, in particular, stood out as a quiet masterpiece – a place where light, shadow and material combined to create an almost meditative experience. In contrast, the Expressive Room injected a bold, almost theatrical energy into the space, using rich colours and striking forms to reinterpret classicist traditions for a modern audience.
Audo's Chancery pendant lamp.
Audo's Nook dining table.
Audo's Pavot vase.
Central to the experience was the work of 14 contemporary artists, spanning disciplines and materials. Four of them – Henrik Glahn, Fanny Schultz, Linda Weimann and Nicolas Mackelberg – created bespoke, site-specific pieces that responded directly to the architecture of Audo House. These works weren’t just placed in the space, they responded to it, subtly shifting the atmosphere. Alongside them, pieces by artists like Stine Regild, Touch with Eyes and Lucy Page shared a common thread: a focus on form, material and feeling.
Beyond the exhibition rooms, Audo’s Concept Shop showcased furniture and objects designed to last, while the Workspace showed how good design can create places for both focus and collaboration. Even the café and restaurant reflected this timeless approach – spaces where classic design and modern living meet over a meal or a morning coffee.
What made 'Monuments' seemingly the hub of 3DaysofDesign was not just its breadth, but its soul. It invited visitors into a dialogue – between history and modernity, between creator and space. Throughout the week, Audo House quietly drew the right crowd and in a festival fuelled by novelty, let timeless design speak for itself.